🗞️ NLRB Orders Nexstar to Bargain With SAG-AFTRA, Rejecting Company's Two Year Challenge
The NLRB ruled that Nexstar Media must recognize and bargain with SAG-AFTRA at its Erie, PA stations, rejecting the company's attempt to challenge a 2024 union certification through a refusal to bargain case.
The National Labor Relations Board has ordered Nexstar Media Inc., operator of WJET-TV, WFXP-TV, and Yourerie.com in Erie, Pennsylvania, to recognize and bargain with the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The decision, issued July 1, 2026, resolves a dispute that began after on air employees, including anchors, reporters, and meteorologists, voted to unionize in March 2024.
Rather than negotiate after the union's certification, Nexstar refused to bargain, a legal maneuver that allows employers to challenge an NLRB certification in federal appeals court rather than only through the original representation case. Nexstar's central argument was that a since rescinded General Counsel memorandum on employees' right to skip captive audience meetings had compromised the fairness of the election. The Board found this issue had already been litigated and rejected during the representation proceeding, and that Nexstar offered no new evidence to warrant reconsideration.
The Board also dismissed several other defenses Nexstar raised, including constitutional claims involving jury trial rights and the removal protections afforded to Board members and administrative law judges, citing established Supreme Court and appellate precedent. Nexstar has faced similar refusal to bargain disputes at other stations, including a case involving a New York station that was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year.
Under the Board's order, Nexstar must bargain with the union upon request, post notices to employees at its Erie facility, and certify its compliance within three weeks. The certification year, during which the union enjoys a presumption of majority support, will not begin until Nexstar starts bargaining in good faith.
Key Points
- The NLRB granted summary judgment against Nexstar, finding the company unlawfully refused to bargain with SAG-AFTRA since May 2024.
- Nexstar's challenge centered on a rescinded General Counsel memo addressing captive audience meetings, an argument the Board found already litigated and unsupported by new evidence.
- The Board rejected Nexstar's constitutional defenses, including Seventh Amendment jury trial claims and objections tied to Board member removal protections.
- Nexstar must bargain with the union, post employee notices for 60 days, and certify compliance within 21 days.
- The bargaining unit covers on camera employees at WJET, WFXP, and Yourerie.com, including anchors, reporters, meteorologists, and special contributors.
- Nexstar has pursued similar legal strategies at other stations, including a recently upheld case in New York.
Primary Source Author: National Labor Relations Board (Chairman James R. Murphy and Members David M. Prouty and Scott A. Mayer)
Primary Source: Nexstar Media Inc., d/b/a WJET-TV/WFXP-TV/Yourerie.com, 374 NLRB No. 137 (July 1, 2026)
Primary Source Link: https://www.nlrb.gov/case/06-CA-343546
