Employees at Ocean State Media voted on Wednesday to form a union with SAG-AFTRA, and the vote cleared with more than 70% yes ballots, according to Jessica Maher, the union’s executive director for New England’s local chapter. The result gives hosts, reporters and producers a formal bargaining path at Rhode Island’s joint NPR and PBS organization.
Maher said, "we won with more than 70% yes vote and we look forward to bargaining." The petition that led to the vote was delivered to Ocean State Media leadership on May 4 by hosts, reporters and producers seeking a more active role in decisions about their work.
May 4 petition at Ocean State Media
The employees’ petition asked for "fair and transparent compensation, clear role expectations, and a say in determining our protections and benefits." It also said the group was acting "at a time of unprecedented challenges for public media and journalism in general," linking the organizing push to the organization’s internal changes.
Ocean State Media was formed in 2024 after The Public’s Radio and Rhode Island PBS merged. The combined organization provides news and cultural coverage for Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, and it lost about $1 million in federal funding last year.
Ocean State Media staffing pressure
That funding loss led to 24 voluntary buyouts, according to Pam Johnston, the organization’s chief executive, in an interview last month. The union vote now places hosts, reporters and producers in a position to press for terms on pay, job expectations, and workplace protections through bargaining rather than only through internal discussions.
SAG-AFTRA already represents neighboring stations including New Hampshire Public Radio and WBUR in Boston. With Ocean State Media’s vote complete, the next step is negotiation over the issues named in the May petition, starting with compensation, role expectations, and benefits.
