Union Walks Away From Charleston, W.Va. (WCHS-TV) News Employees; AFTRA Certification Revoked

Union Walks Away From Charleston, W.Va. (WCHS-TV) News Employees; AFTRA Certification Revoked

BALTIMORE, April 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) announced today that on March 28, 2005, a WCHS-TV (ABC 8 in Charleston, West Virginia) employee filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") to decertify the Tri-State American Federation of Television and Radio Artists ("AFTRA") union. WCHS-TV received word from the NLRB that instead of agreeing to an election, AFTRA had "disclaimed interest" in representing the 33 WCHS-TV news department employees it has represented for at least 16 years. The NLRB has officially revoked the certification of AFTRA as the employees' representative.

"It's not surprising to see the union walk away from our employees that it claimed to represent for all these years," said WCHS-TV News Director Terry Cole. "We have always tried to provide a professional, ethical atmosphere with competitive working salaries and benefits, whereas, the union seemed to lose touch with our employees' needs. Now we can expand our efforts of communicating directly with our employees and recognize and reward our employees' skills and abilities which have been difficult for us to do in the past."

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies, currently owns and operates, programs or provides sales services to 62 television stations in 39 markets. Sinclair's television group reaches approximately 24% of U.S. television households and includes ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, WB, and UPN affiliates.

Source: Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.

CONTACT: David Amy, EVP & CFO, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., +1-410-568-1500

Web site: http://www.sbgi.net/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/110203.html

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