Working for the Future
On March 4, the IATSE began negotiations with the AMPTP for the Hollywood Basic Agreement and Videotape Supplemental Agreement. This is the foundational contract under which the majority of productions in Los Angeles work. Bargaining began with craft-specific Local negotiations, during which time each of the thirteen Hollywood Locals went in with the goal of improving their individual collective bargaining agreements. On March 25, Local 695 sat down with the employers. The proposals we presented had been carefully crafted after months of surveys, town halls, set visits, and one-on-one conversations with the many craftspeople, artists, and technicians in our Local. I made this clear to the employers. I also made it clear that although our bargaining committee consisted of 33 members, we were there on behalf of 1,725 active members and over 300 retired members.
Through the efforts of the bargaining committee, our Board of Directors, our office staff, and the many members who gave up their valuable time to help craft our platform, our proposals, and our presentation, we achieved a successful outcome. We made improvements to our Local agreement that our members have been requesting for years. As I write this, general negotiations for the Basic Agreement are still ongoing, meaning that our Local Agreement is a tentative one. I look forward to sharing the details of our accomplishments and the gains we reached in the next edition of this magazine, pending a ratification vote in favor of the new agreement. But I would be remiss if I did not thank those whose dedicated work helped win these gains. Thank you to Jamie Gambell, Bryan Cahill, Shawn Holden, and Josh Levy, all of whom presented on behalf of the members working in their respective crafts. Thank you to James Delhauer and Casey Weiss, who worked late into the night to shape our many proposals and surveys into a visual presentation that demonstrated our members’ needs to the producers. Thank you to the Local 695 Board of Directors for their leadership and expertise in this time, especially to Joe Aredas, Heidi Nakamura, Blas Kisic, Mark Ulano and Edward L. Moskovitz—all of whom served on our Local Bargaining Committee. And thank you to Jillian Arnold for being the best bargaining partner a BA could ever ask for.
As far as the Basic Agreement and Videotape Supplemental Agreement negotiations are concerned, your bargaining team consists of the leaders of the thirteen Hollywood Locals, representatives from the IATSE, the IATSE’s legal counsel, our pension and health plan actuaries, and rank & file members from the crafts. We brought a very comprehensive list of improvements to the table that will require a substantial amount of funding for the term of the agreement. We are seeking many important improvements on the issues of rest periods, overtime wages, pension & healthcare benefits, travel provisions, sick pay, improvement for compensation for reality TV workers, safeguards for the use of artificial intelligence, subcontractors performing our covered work, the overabundance of side letters in our contract, and—last but not least—wages.
We may not achieve everything we desire in this singular contract, but I believe we will achieve more than we ever have before. I also believe the old adage that you are always marching toward the next agreement. I’ve been at the bargaining table representing our Local since 1997 and I’ve never experienced this much engagement and participation from our members. The momentum we have built going into these negotiations will carry forward as we work to change the culture of Hollywood.
We are not done. There is always work that needs to be done. So, stay involved, report contract violations to the office. Support each other on set. Let’s continue to build on our success.
In Solidarity,
Scott Bernard