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Petition: Dues Paying Union Members Should NOT be removed from the Roster


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Just saw this on Facebook:

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/dues-paying-union-members?source=s.fwd&r_by=1512542

Dues Paying Union Members Should NOT be removed from the Roster

Petition by cari Lutz

To be delivered to Contract Services-Los Angeles

Don t let Contract Services remove you from the Roster based on an outdated and discriminatory rule

Any I.A.T.S.E. union member who is up to date on their dues, should be eligible for union work
There are currently 700 signatures. NEW goal - We need 750 signatures!
PETITION BACKGROUND
Please show support with your signature! The Bottom LINE is that it is unjustified for Contract Services to remove dues-paying Local members from the Roster and force them to re-accrue hours as they did when they first joined.

Currently, Contract Services seeks to remove any union member who hasn't had five union days during a 3 year period because, supposedly, they appear "no longer to be in the industry" and all Rosters from the Los Angeles combined I.A.T.S.E. Locals are creating "an unwieldy paperwork problem" for their offices.

With this rationale, Contract Services is not taking into account individual circumstances (e.g. family issues, maternity leave, and health issues that are not considered disability) and is not serving the best interests of our members. They are also not taking into account that more and more jobs have moved out of California over the past five years. This kind of Roster set-up is archaic, outdated and discriminatory!

We need the voices of the current union members to be heard, and job opportunities to be available to them, as well as the continued support
and protection of our Locals. Contract Services should not be in charge of deciding the fate of our members. Please sign this petition.
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Hmmm. Interesting. It makes you ask what the goal is of qualifying hours in the first place. Is it to make sure that Union workers have had plenty of experience and are at a level of working where they are qualified to join the union or is it about limiting the actual number of workers who are allowed to work on union jobs.

 

If it is the former then there is no need to carry out such discriminatory practices whereas if it is the latter it seems like it would make sense to constantly review the membership in order to keep the number of union workers down.

 

Depends on what you are trying to achieve I guess.

 

Freya

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It's mostly the latter, the number of union shows are shrinking so there are more members fighting for fewer available days. Almost everyone I know who is IA600 and local to SF doesn't work enough union days a year to collect benefits as it is. They have to go down to LA if they want to make their days.

 

Union days are days worked on union signatory productions, mostly features, tv shows, and some commercials.

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Is this mainly a concern over medical benefits?

 

I thought it was a concern about getting kicked out of the union and not being able to get any union work and only being able to work on more poorly paid non union jobs. Also the concern about losing all your business relationships and having to start new ones. Basically having to start all over again from the bottom, which can be especially difficult as you get older I imagine.

 

Freya

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It's mostly the latter, the number of union shows are shrinking so there are more members fighting for fewer available days..

This is really not true. There is currently more IA union work in the US than ever. Between commercials, TV and features, the IATSE represents the majority of production in the United States.

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Hi Greg,

 

That may be true nationally, I can only speak from what I see going on in my local market. Apparently it's pretty easy to make your days in Georgia or Louisiana at the moment, not so much in SF.

 

Hi Freya,

 

You can file paperwork to join IA600 and pay dues, but you technically can't work on union shows until you're on the experience roster which requires 30 union days or 100 non-union days accrued over a certain period of time (3 years, I think?). Then you need to maintain a certain number of days to stay on the roster.

 

Makes sense to join, if you work in a market with enough union shows for the number of union workers available. Otherwise, you're just paying in and not getting any benefits out.

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Hi Greg,

That may be true nationally, I can only speak from what I see going on in my local market. Apparently it's pretty easy to make your days in Georgia or Louisiana at the moment, not so much in SF.

Gotcha. LA is maxed out now. I'm having trouble staffing my movie. Everyone's working. Good problem to have I guess.

 

G

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This is really not true. There is currently more IA union work in the US than ever. Between commercials, TV and features, the IATSE represents the majority of production in the United States.

 

Probably true because all the shows that don't want to bother with IATSE have already packed up and moved to non-union countries like Australia, NZ, South Africa, or Romania.

 

R,

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Thanks Greg,

 

SF is maxed out right now as well, everyone is booked or double booked. They're full rate jobs for the most part, just not union or they are union with waivers!

Union waivers. Ha! Based on that, I'm waiving my dues!!!

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