TV & VIDEO - May 18, 1988

Union newsroom and technical personnel at KTTV-TV Channel 11 have voted to authorize a strike if talks between the labor unit and management break down before a May 31 contract deadline, a spokesman for the National Assn. of Broadcast Engineers and Technicians said Tuesday. A walkout would affect about 260 technical and 35 newsroom personnel at the Fox Broadcasting-owned station. The dispute between the station and the union centers on Fox’s plan to lay off “nearly half of the 160-member work force of staff engineers . . . and replace them with daily hires,” a union spokesman said. Fox representatives were meeting with union officials Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.