Chair-throwing on Tv Ciudad: the Union Pressures Frente Amplio Before the Elections

In a new chapter of the left's novel and its union satellites, the workers of TV Ciudad, Montevideo's municipal channel, declared themselves in "pre-conflict" over alleged "cuts" that, according to them, would affect about 70 people.

In a statement signed by the TV Ciudad Base Committee and the Association of TV Ciudad and Related Workers (ATTCA), the unions came out to lament what they call an "unfair decision" by the authorities, which would reduce working hours or leave some out on the street.

But, as always, behind the tears is a well-calculated strategy: to pressure the Broad Front (FA) just days before the departmental elections on May 11 to loosen the purse strings and throw them a budgetary lifeline.

The unions' argument is the classic manual of progressive victimhood. They say that the cuts, a consequence of an adjustment in the Department of Culture of the Montevideo City Hall (IMM), affect "day laborers" who, in theory, have no formal employment relationship, but in practice have been working for the channel for years under "verbal agreements."

According to them, these precarious workers—without sick leave, unemployment insurance, or severance pay—are the backbone of the programming. And now, with less than 20 days' notice, they are told they are left without hours or a position. Up to that point, the story sounds like a textbook union drama.

But the timing is no coincidence. Weeks before Montevideo residents go to the polls, this "pre-conflict" smells more like a political move than a genuine defense of the workers.

The unions know that the FA, which has managed the IMM as its fiefdom for decades, doesn't want noise before the elections. And what better way to pressure than to create a scandal with TV Ciudad, one of the left's favorite toys for making "inclusive" cultural propaganda.

In the process, they bring into the discussion the cut in hours for sign language interpreters, to score emotional points and accuse the management of going "against the deaf community." Pure calculation.

What is clear is that TV Ciudad has become a pre-election battleground. The unions, with their pre-conflict, are not only seeking to save their members' jobs but also to pressure the FA to raise their salaries or guarantee more stability.

It's the old trick: create chaos, play the victim, and wait for the government to give in to avoid looking bad with its base. Meanwhile, Montevideo taxpayers continue to support a channel that, deficit after deficit, seems more like an ideological whim than an essential public service. Get the chairs ready, because the chair-throwing is just beginning.