NYS SENATOR BIAGGI AND COLLEAGUES CALL ON NBC UNIVERSAL TO ADDRESS TOXIC WORKPLACE CULTURE OF SILENCING SURVIVORS

19 New York State Legislators Send Letter to NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke and Incoming CEO Jeff Shell

BRONX, NY – Today, December 17th, State Senator Alessandra Biaggi and her colleagues in the New York State Legislature sent a letter to NBCUniversal’s CEO Steve Burke and incoming CEO Jeff Shell, calling on the company to take concrete and transparent action to protect the safety of its employees against sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace by addressing a toxic company culture of silencing survivors.

This month it was reported that NBCUniversal allegedly chose not to renew Gabrielle Union’s contract as a host on America’s Got Talent, after she raised concerns about racist jokes made on set and having been told repeatedly that her hairstyles were “too black.” Following the mishandling of sexual harassment and assault complaints against Matt Lauer, and the hampering of Ronan Farrow’s reporting on Harvery Weinstein, this is just the latest example of  systemic silencing of victims of harassment and those who have spoken up at NBCUniversal.

State Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx/Westchester) issued the following statement:

“As a leading national broadcast network, NBCUniversal is responsible for developing industry standards and shaping our country’s discourse. The company is setting a dangerous precedent by silencing victims and ignoring complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. As members of the New York State Legislature, we have a duty to shine a light on toxic culture and uplift the voices of New Yorkers who face harassment, assault, and discrimination at work. We call on NBCUniversal to do better and use its powerful platform to advocate for survivors. NBCUniversal must take concrete action to address the unsafe work environment they have created, and join the national movement to dismantle a culture of workplace harassment and discrimination.”

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