KEYT Workers Strike as Fiesta Kicks Off in Santa Barbara

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This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.

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At the edge of the Santa Barbara Mission’s Rose Garden on Wednesday afternoon, KEYT journalists, producers, editors, and union organizers gathered around a table where a banner read “KEYT workers deserve fair pay.” Earlier that day the group had spent several hours outside the TV station picketing. 

Behind them, hundreds of picnic blankets and lawn chairs sprawled the lawns in front of the Mission as people got ready for La Fiesta Pequeña, an event KEYT livestreamed in years past. But today, the usual livestream crew wasn’t on the job. 

The group, members of the union IATSE Local 600, were participating in a one-day strike over alleged unfair labor practices from the station’s parent company, News-Press & Gazette. The strike comes after nearly 18 months of contract negotiations. 

“[News-Press & Gazette is] not really bargaining in good faith,” said KEYT producer and union organizer Owen Pratt, adding that News-Press & Gazette’s final offer, put forward earlier this year, offered less than previous offers — a tactic called regressive bargaining. 

News-Press & Gazette’s April’s offer, said a representative from IATSE Local 600, would put employees at $17.50 per hour come January, 10 cents above 2027’s minimum wage for the area. 

Pratt said the union wants to achieve better pay — making sure news staff make at least $20 per hour, as well as improved benefits, and more paid time off. 

“We’re not asking for the moon and the stars,” he said. “But we want enough where we can comfortably live in the cities we cover,” he said.

The cost of living on the South Coast is high; median rent for a one-bedroom on the South Coast is just below $2,900, according to a survey from the City of Santa Barbara. But for much of the newsroom, station pay remains low. A representative from IATSE Local 600 said most KEYT members make below $20 per hour. Several employees participating in the day-long strike commute from Ventura County. One said he travels as far as Santa Clarita, a one-hour-and-40-minute commute each way. 

Pratt said the station is also short on staff, with employees taking on two or three jobs. 

“We don’t have a weekend producer anymore,” Pratt said. “We don’t have a weekend MMJ [multimedia journalist]. We’re down multiple editor positions, and it makes all of us have to pick up the extra pieces.”

KEYT workers have made public demonstrations twice this year. In January, unionized workers met on the steps of Santa Barbara City Hall to hold a press conference over what the workers said was stonewalling from the News-Press & Gazette. In May, KEYT employees and supporters picketed against the parent company ahead of a contract negotiation meeting. 

The timing of this strike was strategic. KEYT did not livestream La Fiesta Pequeña on Wednesday, and its local newscasts were replaced by “alternate programming,” including broadcasts from partner stations. Videographer Gene Silva said he was sad he couldn’t be there covering the Fiesta tradition, but that that strike sent a message to the higher-ups — they were in disarray without their employees. 

City Councilmember Wendy Santamaria attended the morning’s picketing outside of KEYT’s station. She said that the community relies on KEYT workers for key information, like what is happening during emergencies or for essential daily news information. 

“We depend on them so much for them to be getting paid under $20 an hour is abysmal,” she said. 

KEYT workers voted to join IATSE Local 600, or the National Cinematographer’s Guild, in November, 2024. At the time, KEYT videographer Gene Silva said support for joining a union grew after News-Press & Gazette reduced employee holidays to meet the state’s requirement for sick days (it’s five). 

At the time of the vote, IATSE Local 600 had filed a case with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that station management had made coercive statements and interrogated employees over joining the union. Since then, IATSE Local 600 has filed three other cases with the board, each alleging bad-faith bargaining. The National Labor Relations Board has closed one of these cases in what the union said was a consolidation measure. 

Currently, in one open case, IATSE Local 600 also states that station management has refused to provide legally required information and is charged repudiated or modified contract offers. 

News-Press & Gazette is a private company headquartered in St. Joseph, Missouri. It owns news stations throughout California, as well as stations in several other states. 

Ahead of the strike, News-Press & Gazette said in an emailed statement to the Independent that it does not comment on employee matters. It did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations of bad-faith bargaining in time for this story.