Employees of KEYT-TV, the Central Coast news station, have been demanding livable wages and a new contract.
Despite more than a year of efforts to negotiate with the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG), IATSE Local 600, KEYT-TV’s parent company, News-Press & Gazette (NPG), has been obstructing the bargaining process, according to an ICG Local 600 statement.
Multimedia journalists, editors, anchors, producers, directors, and photojournalists employed by KEYT held a press conference outside Santa Barbara City Hall on January 16, 2026, to discuss working conditions.
KEYT employees say they continue to work without a contract that provides wages or benefits sufficient to live in the community they cover, according to the statement.
“This isn’t about luxury. It’s about dignity, fairness, and being able to live in the community we serve,” Gene Silva, videographer and video editor at KEYT-TV said in the statement.
Despite over a year of trying to negotiate a fair contract, the management prefers to stonewall than respect their staff, Silva added.
During a recent round of negotiations, NPG proposed a wage grid that, for some technical employees, fell below the City of Santa Barbara’s minimum wage requirements, according to ICG. After the union raised compliance concerns, the proposal was revised to offer only the legal minimum wage.
In November 2024, nearly 35 KEYT employees elected to be represented by ICG 600 and began the process of negotiating a contract, Santa Barbara News-Press reported citing senior business representative Raquel Ruiz.
The union and NPG are yet to reach an agreement.
Denying that NPG was stalling in trying to reach an agreement, KEYT General Manager Jim Lemon told the Santa Barbara News-Press that the channel has “negotiated in good faith to reach a contract with IATSE.”
The channel “fully intends to continue to negotiate in an effort to reach an agreement,” Lemon told the Santa Barbara News-Press.
In December 2024, edhat had reported that KEYT had been facing challenges with competitive compensation among its employees, which was reflected by job postings. A full-time role for a bilingual multimedia journalist/weekend sports anchor offered $37,000 to $39,000 annually, while a newscast director was offered $34,500 to $36,000 per year. Audio/graphics operators were offered rates as low as $16 per hour, just skirting the minimum wage allowed in California.
The Missouri-based NPG is a family-owned company that controls multiple West Coast TV stations in cities like Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Salinas, Santa Cruz, and Palm Springs.
KEYT was the first station under NPG to opt for unionization in December 2024.
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These people don’t seem to understand how a capitalist economy functions.
You don’t understand much of anything.
We have nothing close to a capitalist economy, thankfully.
I am not sure where you are commenting from, but the United States is a capitalist economy.
Nope. Not even close.
Pure capitalism always fails, producing a runaway divergent population of haves and have nots.
We’re working on that now, but by forcibly accelerating the growth in the haves.
ZIPS – is under $40K a year for a job that requires more than a high school diploma and specialized education acceptable to you?
Sack – If they are unhappy with the wages offered they should seek employment elsewhere and perhaps KEYT will see the error of their ways.
ZIPs – how spineless can you get? “You don’t like being exploited and ripped off, just shut up and leave.”
Weakness, poor critical thinking and fear are what drives you MAGAs.
NPG owns several local TV stations in California, but offers their employees below minimum wage salary and refuses to pay them a livable wage.
KEYT =
Keeping
Everything
You’re
Toast
they should vote with their feet……and see how KEYT puts on their new programs without employees
Be carful oops, sacjon just called zippy spineless for the same suggestion.
All of the Repuglicans who continually defend and support the child r*****s are spineless. And you support the ped0 in chief so look in a mirror.