NABET-CWA (National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians)

Overview

NABET-CWA (National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO) is the union representing broadcast and film technicians, engineers, and production workers at US television networks and media companies. Founded in 1934, NABET-CWA represents over 9,000 employees at ABC, NBC, and more than 100 private radio, TV, film, and video production companies across the United States.

Members include engineers, technicians, news writers, announcers, directors, clerical employees, photographers, traffic coordinators, communications specialists, and stage service workers. The union's jurisdiction covers broadcasting, distributing, telecasting, recording, filming, cable, video, sound recording, and allied industries in North America.

NABET-CWA operates as a sector of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), with local unions across the US. The Sector Executive Council (SEC) governs the union between conventions, and each local union has its own Executive Board that manages local affairs, approves membership applications, and sets local dues and initiation fees.

Initiation Fees

Initiation fees are established by each local union's by-laws and are retained entirely by the local. Fees vary significantly by local and by the applicant's position. The following are examples from major NABET-CWA locals:

Local 41 (ABC/NBC network employees in New York)

Local 41 allows payment in 12 equal monthly installments, or sooner if the member desires. The Executive Board can modify payment schedules on a case-by-case basis.

Local 53 (NBC employees)

Local 53 sets the initiation fee at 10 days' base pay. Overscale members who earn more than the highest contractual rate pay 10% above that highest rate. Local 53 allows a minimum 10% down payment with the remainder deducted through payroll check-off at 5% of the applicant's total income per paycheck until the fee is fully paid. If the initiation fee is not paid within 4 years, the remaining balance becomes immediately due.

Reinstatement Fee

Any member who has been expelled from NABET-CWA must pay a $250 reinstatement fee plus all back initiation fees, dues, and fines to become current before being eligible for membership reinstatement.

Dues Structure

NABET-CWA sector dues are calculated as a percentage of total income:

Total income for dues purposes includes base pay, overtime, and penalties. Severance pay is excluded from the calculation. Some locals assess additional local dues on top of sector dues. For example, Local 41's by-laws specify total membership dues of 1.67% of total income earned, which includes both the sector portion and the local portion.

Dues are due no later than the 15th day of the beginning of each quarter (January, April, July, October) for all income earned in the previous quarter, for members not on payroll check-off. Members on check-off have dues deducted bi-weekly from their paychecks.

Collective Bargaining Agreements

NABET-CWA maintains master agreements with the major US broadcast networks:

NBCUniversal Master Agreement (2022-2027)

The current master agreement between NABET-CWA and NBCUniversal Media, LLC covers television and radio stations, network operations, and news bureaus. The agreement includes union security provisions requiring employees to tender uniform membership dues or initiation fees within a specified period. The company is required to discharge any employee who fails to maintain good standing within 3 working days of receiving notice from the union.

ABC Master Agreement

A similar master agreement covers employees at ABC, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney Enterprises, Inc. The agreement covers television and radio stations, network facilities, and other entities that were covered by the 1981-1985 NABET-ABC Master Agreement and continue to be owned by ABC/Disney.

Both agreements include check-off provisions where the company deducts union initiation fees and dues from employee paychecks and remits them to the appropriate local and sector offices.

Membership Eligibility

Any person employed or qualified for employment in the broadcasting, distributing, telecasting, recording, filming, and allied industries is eligible for membership, regardless of race, creed, age, sex, color, or national origin. An applicant becomes a member when approved at a meeting of the Local Executive Board and upon payment of the appropriate initiation fee and dues.

Associate Membership is available for those who have never worked under a NABET-CWA collective bargaining agreement. Associate Members pay minimum sector dues but have no voting rights. They receive benefits such as training as determined by the local. If an Associate Member begins working under a NABET-CWA CBA, they must apply for active membership.

NABET-CWA vs IATSE Jurisdiction

The jurisdictional boundary between NABET-CWA and IATSE has been a source of ongoing negotiation in the US entertainment industry. IATSE covers the majority of below-the-line craft workers in theatrical film and scripted television production. NABET-CWA covers broadcast television technical workers, particularly at the major networks (ABC, NBC). In areas where both unions have claimed jurisdiction (certain types of television production, documentary production at network facilities), boundaries have been established through agreements and historical practice rather than a clean logical division.

For producers working on network documentaries, news magazine programs, or productions that interface with both broadcast facilities and independent production companies, determining which union's agreements apply requires investigation of the specific production context. Using a network facility triggers NABET-CWA agreements for technical workers at that facility, regardless of the production company's normal union relationships.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For producers planning productions at network broadcast facilities, NABET-CWA agreements apply to technical crew at those facilities. Budget for initiation fees ($750-$1,500 depending on position and local), sector dues (1.33% of total income), and any local dues. The 2022-2027 NBCUniversal master agreement and the ABC master agreement are the primary contracts governing network employment.

For broadcast technicians and engineers, NABET-CWA membership provides collective bargaining protections, health and pension benefits through CWA-affiliated plans, and wage minimums established by the master agreements. The union's sector by-laws and local by-laws are available at nabetcwa.org.

See Also

For the craft union whose jurisdiction overlaps with NABET-CWA in film and television production, see IATSE in this directory. For broadcast performers covered by a separate union, see SAG-AFTRA in this directory. For the Directors Guild covering news and program directors, see Directors Guild of America (DGA) in this directory. Use the Indie Film Budget Calculator to estimate crew labor costs and union obligations for your production.