St. Louis Public Radio staffers take ‘a step toward unionizing’

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The employees at St. Louis Public Radio took a step toward unionizing on Thursday.

Workers said they submitted a statement of interest in joining a bargaining unit, which would be represented by Communications Workers of America. They are pushing for better pay, more communication between management and staff, and continued improvements in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Rachel Lippmann, local politics and criminal justice reporter, said the unit would include reporters, talk show hosts, part-time announcers, front desk workers and membership support staff. That’s estimated to include 42 people.

Lippmann said she expects management and workers’ interests will align most of the time.

“When they don’t,” she said, “we’re going to disagree without being disagreeable.”

The radio station is licensed to the University of Missouri and operates at part of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Lippmann said she expects the decision to recognize the bargaining unit will be made by either the university or the system.

The United Media Guild represents reporters at the Post-Dispatch. The guild is a member of CWA.