The 26 employees represented by the National Association of Broadcasting Employees and Technicians Local 54-412 ratified a contract with CMU May 20 that will keep current levels of pay and other benefits constant.

CMU ratified the contract June 1.

“Everybody, of course, wants to get a raise,” said Linda Dielman, programming and outreach manager and president of NABET Local 54-412. “I thought negotiations went well, they were amicable, these are tough times economically.”

She said rates have been set at their current levels for the next year, although what will occur for the rest of the contract which expires June 30, 2013 is uncertain.

Dielman said the uncertain state of CMU’s budget for the next academic year made deliberations a more difficult matter than they otherwise might have been.

“Everybody did the best they could do, given the information they had at the time,” she said.

Negotiations were held with a modified expedited bargaining process over a week between Dielman, a representative of NABET’s national office, and Kevin Smart, director of employee relations and human resources technology.

The current contract rates provide a minimum pay of $13.00 an hour and a maximum of $21.07 for employees in the first pay bracket.

Employees in the fifth and highest pay bracket can receive a minimum yearly salary of $49,677 and a maximum of $76,261.

“Linda Dielman in the bargaining committee did a good job of making sure the contract terms were reasonable given the circumstances,” Smart said.

He said the university has managed to avoid much of the economic fallout the private sector has faced, necessitating mass layoffs and widespread reduction of programs, through a measured approach to programs like the decision with NABET.

“I think we did a good job of trying to sidestep those issues for now,” Smart said.

CMU Police Officer Bill Martinez said the truck’s driver and passenger side windows were shattered with rocks, though nothing inside was taken. The damage to the vehicle is estimated at costing $400.

“Apparently somebody picked up some stones in the area and used them to break the window,” Martinez said.

He said the stones used in landscaping around the PBS building are a common tool for vandalism, as CMU police have responded to similar reports in the past. He mentioned its proximity to local bars as a contributing factor.

There are no suspects, and he said there is no evidence to indicate any motive other than the perpetrator being intoxicated and feeling destructive.

“It appears that somebody just went by and saw the rocks there and decided to have some fun, but it wasn’t aimed toward anybody,” Martinez said.

The television station, owned and operated by the University of Michigan, broadcasts from Bay City to the metro Detroit area.

CMU received a $750,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, which will be used to equip a mobile production truck with high-definition digital production equipment, said Ed Grant, general manager of CMU Public Broadcasting.

The truck and equipment was originally intended for use at CMU stations in the rural areas of central and northern Michigan, where the digital transition is slower. However, the university now plans to use the truck in Flint after the station is purchased, Grant said.

The Board met in special session Tuesday in the President’s Conference Room in the Bovee University Center to discuss the television station.

Interim University President Kathy Wilbur said the Board viewed the station as an opportunity to significantly expand the university’s coverage into critical areas such as southeast Michigan.

“It allows us to expand academic programs on the behalf of CMU, especially through ProfEd,” she said. “We’re so focused on our enrollment question and retention question, this gives us another avenue in which to pursue that.”

Public Broadcasting will draft a purchase agreement and interim management agreement for CMU to take over the station as soon as possible.

“This is very common in the broadcast world because of the normal delays in getting approval for a change in ownership through the FCC,” Grant said.

Under the interim management agreement, the university could control the station’s programming despite not being the official owner. Broadcasting could begin by the end of November, Grant said.

‘Not a front-end payment’

Public Broadcasting first took interest in the station after U-M said it would sell it in April. U-M employees at WFUM were notified that most of their positions would be eliminated, Grant said. At the same time, CMU Public Broadcasting will likely create new positions.

The university also plans to change the call letters of the station.

Funding for the $1 million purchase will come from university reserves, and Public Broadcasting will reimburse CMU. CMU will make a series of scheduled payments to U-M.

“We’re very careful about making sure it’s not a front-end payment,” said David Burdette, vice president for Finance and Administrative Services.

CMU Public Broadcasting reaches out to a potential 2.4 million viewers in mid- and northern-Michigan. The addition of the Flint and metro Detroit areas would mean an increase to about 8 million potential viewers.

Overlap market?

However, possible problems include an overlap market.

Other public broadcasting stations have a presence in the area and would see competition when it comes to fundraising, Grant said. The FCC could choose to deny the change in ownership because of it.

“There is a great potential for partnering,” Wilbur said. “I think that public broadcasting needs to consider much more collaborative efforts in order to survive in an ever-changing media market.”

During the meeting, the Board approved a proposal to pay back $619,489 to the National Science Foundation. The money was originally given to CMU as part of a research project grant, but the project was stopped after it was determined it could not be completed successfully.