Golf Channel and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) have come to an agreement to end the strike that lasted nearly two tournaments. The roughest part of the strike took place during the finish of the Sony Open when cameramen and technical workers walked off the job during the tournament. Golf Channel was able to cobble together enough of a crew to cover the CareerBuilder Challenge, which is quite an achievement as the event takes place over three courses, but the quality was greatly diminished.
The updated contract will include wage increases as well as health care coverage that will be retroactive to the end date of the previous contract in June of 2017.
The IATSE released the following statement via email:
“This is a huge win for broadcast technicians working in the highly specialized world of golf programming,” said Sandra England, Department Director of Broadcast for the IATSE. “Freelance workers standing together like this, supporting each other, it’s never happened before. All three broadcast unions stood in solidarity to send a powerful message – that there is a line where workers will say ‘No’ and back it up, and that nobody can take us for granted.”
“This is the power of solidarity,” said IATSE International President Matthew D. Loeb. “Golf Channel technicians supported one another, and achieved something they could not have hoped for on their own. Everyone who works in sports broadcasting will benefit from this contract, because it raises the floor for all workers.”
While the PGA Tour broadcast this weekend would not have been affected had the strike continued, Web.com and LPGA Tour events would have been. The PGA Tour events from here on out, minus opposite field events running during the majors, would have been covered by CBS and NBC crews.