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As UN
TV Staffing Contract Talks Stall, Vendor's Finances Shaky, Scabs In the
Wings
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
June 29 -- With the threat of
a
strike or lock-out, complete with replacement workers, increasingly
looming over UN Television, new information has emerged about
the shaky financial condition of the company chosen by the UN to
provide the
service. National Mobile Television, once
described as one of the largest remote production vendors in the United
States,
announced layoffs in April 2008, closing offices and preparing to put
itself up
for sale. Its subsidiary Venue Services Group, which directly hires
those who
work in UN Television, the following month closed its office in East
Rutherford, New Jersey and moved in with The Systems Group in Hoboken.
VSG's
Dave Shaw claimed that "this is not a sale of the company in any
way, but
a strategic alliance." But the declining credit rating and shifting
corporate structure of its UN TV vendor should have triggered an
inquiry by the
UN. Instead, the UN staffer in charge of overseeing the contract has
been
allowed by Andrew Nye to go to Beijing to work for NBC on the upcoming
Olympics.
Well-placed sources tell Inner
City Press that VSG's Dave Shaw was planning to bring 10
"scabs" into the UN to give them a tour of the facility -- and
that this was approved by the UN. The UN TV-ers, members of IBEW
Local 1212, responded by
voluntarily coming
to work on Sunday morning. After so many of them entered the
building, UN Security
started refusing more of them entry. After hearing of such a
strong
showing, VSG called off their "scab tour." When and if this
so called tour will happen is not clear. There are threats the UN will
deactivate the
UN TV-ers' passes as of Sunday 29 June at midnight, ostensibly out
of concern
about sabotage of technical equipment. That would interfere with
any
UN TV on Monday, when VSG is slated to make an offer. Watch this
site.
UN's Ban addresses press at a UN TV stakeout:
may go dark on July 1
For now,
VSG brags that it
"is providing the United
Nations Headquarters in New York City, with a total turn-key solution
for
facility operations and technical support as part of a multi-year
contract. The
agreement outsources the United Nations broadcast and technical
staffing
requirements, and provides technical expertise to operate and engineer
its
multiple facilities. This includes the General Assembly, Secretary
General and
Security Council conference rooms, radio and television facilities and
all
other meeting rooms supporting the international peacekeeping body as
well as
newsworthy events that occur."
Note: like a strike?
"The United Nations
television, radio and conference room operations are responsible for
audio
mixing, multi-language feeds and audio/visual needs required for every
conference room. This includes the General Assembly Hall; live and
taped radio
feeds of news events sent to the meeting rooms; live and taped
television
studio and news clips anywhere within the UN building and grounds; post
production work for United Nations Department of Public Information and
other
internal groups; and acting as liaison to outside news organizations."
And all
this may stop on July 1. Watch this site.
* * *
These reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
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[at] innercitypress.com
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Other,
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in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
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2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
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