WRTV Anchor Battles AFTRA Over Dues

Trisha Shepherd, who anchors the 6, 7, and 11 p.m. newscasts for Indianapolis’s WRTV, has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against AFTRA claiming that the union is trying to collect dues that she doesn’t owe.

According to The Indianapolis Star, AFTRA has been attempting to collect $1,032 from Shepherd, who joined WRTV in 2007, even though she isn’t a union member and the last labor agreement between AFTRA and WRTV’s owner McGraw-Hill Broadcasting expired in 2009.

Shepherd filed the complaint with the help of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has been connected to the recent right-to-work disputes in Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. She has made it clear, though, that the filing isn’t intended as a political statement.

“I’m just like any other citizen trying to protect myself,” Shepherd told the Star.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.