Labor Pains: A Tale of Kicking, Discomfort, and Joy on the Broadcasting Delivery Table

For well more than a century, unions and companies have experienced a state of push and pull. Confrontations occasionally led to war. Some battles became legend. Hollywood movies were made and books were written. Because the broadcasting industry is in the public eye, its labor struggles often became very familiar to the American audiences. But much remained behind the curtain.

A battlefield commander at the bargaining table for more than four decades while at ABC, NBC, RKO, and The Walt Di...