Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LABOR NEWS—CWA unions decry FCC approval of Nexstar—Tegna deal, cite labor-market harms, (Mar 23, 2026)
Organizations Mentioned:Federal Communications Commission | Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. | Tegna, Inc.
By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.
Unions warn that expanded ownership could reshape newsroom staffing and bargaining dynamics across local broadcast markets.
The National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians—Communications Workers of America (NABET-CWA) and NewsGuild-CWA expressed disapproval following the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) approval of Nexstar Media Group’s acquisition of Tegna, a transaction the unions describe as a $6 billion deal that would allow one company to reach roughly 80 percent of U.S. TV households. In their statement, the unions criticized the FCC’s use of waivers related to ownership limits and argued the action consolidates corporate control over local news. The unions have emphasized the labor impact of the merger, including newsroom staffing reductions, diminished bargaining leverage, and consolidation of production operations in multi-station markets.
Multistate lawsuit. The unions applauded a multistate lawsuit filed by attorneys general seeking to block the merger, describing the acquisition as a threat to a “free and fair press” and pointing to statutory caps on the number of stations a single firm may own. California Attorney General Rob Bonta subsequently led a coalition of eight attorneys general in an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order after the FCC and Department of Justice approvals, asserting the deal would create the nation’s largest broadcast station group and affect the delivery of news, employment, and consumer costs. The filing emphasized expected job impacts in California markets as an example.
CWA has also highlighted broader coalition activity before the FCC. In early February, 28 public-interest, labor, and civil-rights organizations joined CWA’s petition urging the FCC to halt the proposed combination, warning of increased market concentration and reduced local news and competition.
Petition to deny. In a redacted petition to deny filed at the FCC, a coalition including NABET-CWA and NewsGuild-CWA voiced concerns regarding the labor impacts of the merger. The filing contends the merger would “entrench and extend” Nexstar’s bargaining power in local labor markets, reduce employer competition for broadcast technicians, and lead to consolidation of production departments where the company would own multiple stations in a market. The petition further states that workers at both companies reported expected layoffs and negative effects on local labor markets, and it characterizes Nexstar as already exercising monopsony power in certain markets—claims presented to the FCC as part of the public-interest analysis.
Nexstar Media Group; Tegna Inc.
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