Joe Perri Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 If you joined a union such as IATSE local 600, would you be able to leave/resign from the union later on if you feel that you would rather just freelance non-union instead? If so how would that work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Soltys Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Yes, you can leave the Union anytime. Technically, I think you should notify the Union that you are resigning. You could also just stop paying your dues. Keep in mind, if you want back in, you have to go through the whole initiation process (and fees) again. I left 600 about 15 years ago, I often wish I hadn't, but at the time I wasn't getting enough work to justify the dues. I'm still a big Union supporter though. An awful lot of people get a fair wage, insurance and pension thanks to the Union. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Landau Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) Once I had kids and moved out of NYC I didn't work union jobs anymore as a gaffer or electric. I was shooting and lighting all corporate video stuff, which is all non-union. It was a quality of life thing - being able to be around to see my kids grow up and be part of their life. I later went even further away and opened a dinner theater. But i kept paying my dues - which is actually rather low in Local 52, as they mainly take money out of your pay check. That was one of the smartest decisions I made. I eventually closed the theater and went back to corporate video and then started teaching. But since I had off in the summers I put out some calls to people I used to know in the union and I've been getting union jobs every summer ever since - as an electric or gaffer. My recommendation - keep the card maybe see about going "inactive". Maybe it worked out for me as I wasn't in 600, so my non-union camera and LD work wasn't in my local's category. I still shoot corporate videos and low budget indie stuff but only do electric and gaffer work on union jobs. Edited November 25, 2014 by David Landau 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Mark Kenfield Posted March 17, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 17, 2015 Roughly how much are union dues in the States? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adam Frisch FSF Posted March 20, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 20, 2015 For a DP it's about $120/month. Plus they take 1% of all your earnings. Plus they want $13K when you join. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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