CHCH TV Hamilton's Bogus Bankruptcy

[tay]

CH management cut dozens of employees in order to form a new company "free of old Union employees and their demands," according to an email from an accounts manager leaked to media Tuesday.

"We just needed to disband the previous company and form a new one where changes could be made, free from old Union employees and their demands and free from carryover debt of CanWest," said Kathleen Marks in an email that appears to be directed at a client or prospective client.

Marks, whose Linkedin page lists her as an account manager for CHCH News, wrote that she was addressing "misinformation in the media regarding our restructuring."

Channel Zero announced Friday it was declaring CHCH's news operation bankrupt and terminating more than 150 news positions

Eighty-one of those employees were offered jobs with a new company.

Employees who lost their jobs said the abrupt way they were treated added to the pain of being let go. They'll have to get in line as creditors in the company's bankruptcy proceedings for any severance their contract says they're owed, said Unifor representative Liz Marzari in a Monday interview. Tuesday was the first full day of broadcasting under the new significantly reduced schedule of local news.

"I think it was a despicable way to treat long-serving loyal employees," she said.

On Monday, the union that represented CHCH news workers said that new company can't escape the union contracts the workers had before Friday's restructuring.

Unifor said the new company is a "successor corporation" and that collective bargaining agreements should hold for the new workers.

"They can voluntarily recognize us, or we can argue it in front of the Labour (Relations) Board," Marzari said.

CHCH had to get 'free from old Union employees and their demands': sales rep - Latest Hamilton news - CBC Hamilton

 

[Danbones]

loyal
good worker...
do nOT always mean the same thing
though 11 was not bad local station back in the days when i watched a little TV, hope they keep that homey feel

 

[Locutus]

that's a shame.

 

[TenPenny]

If they did declare bankruptcy, they have not legal right to the assets, including broadcasting license, trademarks, name, advertising revenue, etc etc.


Totally aside from any labour relations issues, if management actually declared bankruptcy, yet are using the assets, they are committing fraud, since they do not have legal ownership of the goods. You have to go through the bankruptcy process, and see who gets what.

 

[spaminator]

shows ive watched on chch are 2020, 48 hours, dateline, supernatural

 

[Walter]

CHCH always had the best Canadian content cuz they made it themselves.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I can't remember the last time I have ever watched something on CHCH. They kind of suck. They should have just put on a test pattern with no employees. Much more entertaining.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I can't remember the last time I have ever watched something on CHCH. They kind of suck. They should have just put on a test pattern with no employees. Much more entertaining.

Walter, I did not know you were such a fan of CHCH-TV. Care to explain what you like about them?

 

[Retired_Can_Soldier]

CHCH has been in trouble for quite some time.

 

[Locutus]

 

[Curious Cdn]

I wondered why they are suddenly broadcasting the Bloomberg feed 24 hrs a day.

CHCH almost went right off of the air when Global went down a few years ago and they had come back from the grave, somewhat. Living on Oakville, they are our local community station. They even had a little studio here prior to the Global cuts.

Television itself is in trouble over the long haul. They are a couple of decades behind the newspapers on their way to the bone yard. These are all becoming obsolete media.

 

[Murphy]

Sam Hebscher is smiling.

 

[tay]

Sam Hebscher is smiling.

I think you meant Mark and no, he was let go with no severance and while he's not demonstrating too much animosity publicly yet I'm thinking if he doesn't find something else soon, he will be.......


Mark was also a guest on the today's "Toronto Mike'd" (starts at the 49 minute mark) podcast, ep. 150.


Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 150: David Shoalts and Mark Hebscher | Toronto Mike's Blog

The employees are owed $1.62 million, according to the bankruptcy documents. That amount likely represents unpaid severance,

Former employees of Channel 11 LP owed $1.62M by bankrupt company

As to whether anyone liked or disliked CHCH's programming, which I thought was good the last 3 years when they went to 'all news' from 4 am to 7 pm is not the point.

I think the point of the 'leaked email' is that it indicates the 'bankruptcy claim' is a sham.

And yesterday I listened to the Scott Thompson show on CHML. He is a very anti-union person as demonstrated by my listening to him in the past. He had on the anti Union lawyer Lior Samfiru who I'm thinking either blatantly ignoring the fact that CHCH is likely Federally Regulated or doesn't know.

Jamie West, another on air personality on CHML called into the show and said what was happening at CHCH is 'un Canadian' and I agree with him but this is part of the hangover of the anti-union Harper Conservatives.


And if you listen to this interview, Scott Thompson wonders about the Bell Media Logo suddenly appearing on CHCH TV's Letterhead......


News broke yesterday afternoon of a letter from an account manager at CHCH. In that letter, the manager described the changes that were made. CHCH has come forward saying that it was her own account and has no insight into leadership matters. We noticed, however, there’s a BellMedia logo at the bottom of the e-mail. What does it all mean? Will the employees get severance?
Guest: Lior Samfiru, Employment Lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP Barristers & Solicitors.


https://soundcloud.com/am900chml/news-broke-yesterday-of-a-letter-from-an-account-manager-at-chch http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/lrco-rtor/wfa-rde/sro-dos-enga.asp


And this is not the first time Channel Zero has been involved in no good at CHCH......


At age 72 and with health problems to contend with, Bob Ireland says there's not a "heck of a lot" he can do to find new work to replace his crumbling pension plan.
So the veteran Hamilton television reporter, who retired from station CHCH in 1997 after 30 years of service, says he and his wife are reviewing their finances, trimming costs and cancelling vacation plans.
"She doesn't sleep too well at night, wondering what sort of situation we're going to be in, whether we're going to have to at some point sell the house and look for cheaper accommodation. God forbid that should happen."
Mr. Ireland is one of more than 200 CHCH retirees and active workers who learned this summer that their underfunded pension plan was being shut down and liquidated as part of the agreement by CanWest Global Communications Corp. to sell the station to Channel Zero, a Toronto-based specialty television producer. Channel Zero made the purchase on the condition it would not take over the station's pension plan.

CanWest pensioners' lives in limbo - The Globe and Mail

 

[Walter]

Never let others look after your pension.

 

[TenPenny]

Never let others look after your pension.

You got that right.

 

[taxslave]

If they did declare bankruptcy, they have not legal right to the assets, including broadcasting license, trademarks, name, advertising revenue, etc etc.


Totally aside from any labour relations issues, if management actually declared bankruptcy, yet are using the assets, they are committing fraud, since they do not have legal ownership of the goods. You have to go through the bankruptcy process, and see who gets what.

Not necessarily. Just depends on the bankruptcy trustee and the judge involved.

 

[tay]

As many as 90 full and part-time employees at CHCH Television who were fired in December 2015 will share in a $1 million settlement, the Hamilton station’s parent company announced on Monday.

“This total settlement amount of $1,000,000 paid out over two years and earmarked to pay wages, termination pay and severance pay owing to the former employees, is substantial, but at the same time will not subject CHCH to such a financial burden that it might jeopardize the station’s operations,” says the company in a statement on the Channel Zero website. “CHCH will continue to serve its viewers and advertisers as it has for over 60 years.”

The company says the deal is a full and final settlement with Unifor, the union representing the employees.

About 130 full-time employees and some 30 part-timers were let go as part of a massive restructuring by the company.

About 71 of those employees were offered work at the restructured operation.

Donna Skelly, former CHCH news reporter and present Hamilton Mountain councillor, was surprised and shocked at the settlement.
“We didn’t think we were getting a penny,” Skelly said.

Unifor national rep Liz Marzari said the agreement covers 70-90 people who did not receive offers to return to the company and they will get details of the agreement in the coming days.

“As part of the settlement, the employer recognizes Unifor as the bargaining agent for the employees,” said Marzari who noted the deal also renews the existing collective agreement with a few changes to Aug. 31, 2018.

“The salaries have remained essentially the same,” Marzari said. “There were some changes to working conditions and starting times.”

Marzari credits Unifor’s bargaining power for getting the company to agree to negotiate a settlement.

She noted the union had filed three complaints with the Canadian Industrial Relations Board and it would likely have taken years to go through the process.

“The settlement also includes an admission by Channel 11 LP that they engaged in an unfair labour practice,” Marzari said. “Our hope is with this settlement, we’ll be able to go forward and have a better relationship with the company.”

Fired CHCH workers to share $1 million settlement

 

[Curious Cdn]

It's weird, eh? They just suddenly went off the air with no warning. I'm not surprised that there were shenanigans, although Television's better days are behind her. My kids don't watch conventional television at all, just streamed this and that.

 

[damngrumpy]

It view of the surfaced e mail there could well be some legal ramifications here.
If one files a false document to a court or government it could come with some
severe punishments we will see

 

[Murphy]

I think you meant Mark and no, he was let go with no severance and while he's not demonstrating too much animosity publicly yet I'm thinking if he doesn't find something else soon, he will be...

No, I meant Sam. Sam Hebscher was Mark's uncle. Mark and I were in Conestoga College together in the RTA program in the 1970s. Among other things, Sam brought the original movie concept to CHCH and used to love negotiating to run fairly new movies that, years ago, were never seen on television.
---

WRT to the lay offs, it was said at the time that big changes were coming. Within a few days of it happening, announcements were made that the lay offs were a part of the cost cutting measures. The employees didn't know it was coming, but the financial difficulties were known to the staff before the ax fell. I just don't believe that the scope of the problem was known to them.

I'm not excusing the action that was taken, but it's not the first time that corporations have taken those steps. It probably won't be the last either.