United Campus
Workers of Georgia are facing an uphill battle in just getting the right to
be heard in their fight to unionize University of Georgia employees.
The latest is a report in the Athens Flagpole
magazine stating that a radio station in Athens refused to run the
organization’s ads stating that the “organization's objectives are not
consistent with the free market principles on which our organization was
founded.”
UCW of Georgia is now chartered as CWA Organizing Local
3265 and is soliciting membership among University of Georgia employees. The
local claims to now have approximately 100 members.
It appears that radio station is not that interested in
the free market, as the union was willing to pay for the advertising time
rather than asking for free airtime.
In a competitive free market, the radio station should
have accepted the ads and the payment. Then, if it wished, it could solicit
advertising that disputed the union’s efforts. Instead, it chose to ignore the
marketplace and not accept the advertising.
As a result of its action, the radio station lost revenue
and gave the group more publicity than if it had simply been willing to run the
advertising charging its usual rates.
According to the news story, at least one local pharmacy,
Hodgson’s Pharmacy, has pulled its ads from the station.
It would be wise for the radio station’s management to reconsider its
refusal and allow a diversity of voices to be heard.
Ironically, the radio station calls itself, the Sound of
Athens. It appears that it wants to be the voice for only a part of the Athens
community.
