635 - IATSE Local 8 Philadelphia

At their first meeting in September,
2011, the Board of Trustees appointed
Brother Jorgensen to the
position of Program Director of the
IA Training Trust. He can be reached
at kjorgensen@iatsetrainingtrust.org.
In his report he gave an overview
of the recent safety classes facilitated
through the IA Training Trust, and a
preview of events being scheduled.
Anyone having questions concerning
the program and available classes
should contact Kent Jorgensen.
The report included a presentation
of the new partnership between
the IATSE and InfoComm International,
the world’s largest audio visual
trade organization. InfoComm is
made up of thousands of individuals
and companies including persons
working in the A/V industry,
manufacturers and vendors of A/V
equipment and design, exhibitors,
and managers. Through an agreement
reached between the IATSE
and InfoComm, IA members are
eligible to pursue training classes
toward certifications recognized in
the A/V industry. Online classes and
member discounts are also available
to IATSE members. The Alliance
will continue to participate by
having a booth and presenting rigging
demonstrations at the annual
InfoComm tradeshows. An article on
the IATSE-InfoComm partnership appeared
in the 2011 Fourth Quarter
IATSE Bulletin.
IATSE TEMPLATE FOR PRE-
SENTATIONS TO STUDENTS
Canadian Office Operations Manager
Krista Hurdon reported to the
Board on a presentation designed
to educate students. Further to the
IATSE initiatives to change the public
perception of unions in general,
and to provide information about the
IATSE to students and young workers,
a Power Point presentation was
developed to be made available to all
Locals and Representatives.
The topics and issues raised in
this presentation include the basics
of the need for trade unions, a brief
history and structure of the IATSE,
the benefits of IATSE membership,
the empowering collective voice for
workplace and social action and how
to join as an individual and organize
a workplace.
This initiative is key to providing
information and education to young
adults with regard to the basic elements
of trade unionism, and is a
tool to help dispel the pervasive
misinformation against the movement.
President Loeb noted that
the presentation is now available
through the General Office and can
be easily tailored to accommodate
any audience.
L.A. COUNTY FEDERATION
OF LABOR
Re: IATSE Support of
Grocery Workers
International Vice Presidents
Thom Davis and Michael F. Miller, Jr.,
and representatives of the West Coast
Studio Locals reported on the support
provided by the IATSE to the fight
of the Southern California Grocery
Workers represented by UFCW. Many
will recall the difficult four month
strike these workers fought during
the previous contract cycle. This year
the attack against them ramped up
again. Their union began an aggressive
campaign to impress upon the
grocery chains that another strike was
inevitable unless contract negotiations
could be successfully concluded. The
UFCW represented workers had the
full support of the County of Federation
of Labor, and this included the
efforts on their behalf by the IATSE.
IATSE International Representative
Ron Garcia coordinated the actions
participated in by members of the
Los Angeles area IATSE Locals and
the representatives from the IA West
Coast Office.
A letter writing campaign to the
stores was very successful. One of
the most exceptional events occurred
when seventy-five members of IA-
TSE locals showed up for a rally at
a Ralph’s Market. During the event
all seventy-five IA members entered
the store and delivered over 300 letters
from IA rank-and-file members
to store management in support of
the Grocery Workers’ struggle. Soon
thereafter UFCW obtained a new collective
bargaining agreement.
This is another example of the
IATSE working in concert with other
unions to fight the fight when necessary.
This is a reciprocal relationship
where the IA has enjoyed the support
of unions in its fight whether on the
picket line such as during the “Biggest
Loser” strike, or in our campaign to
fight digital theft.
MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY
PENSION & HEALTH PLANS/
BENEFITS BARGAINING
COMMITTEE
International Vice Presidents Michael
F. Miller, Jr., Thom Davis and
John Ford, International Trustee
George Palazzo, Special Representative
Ronald G. Kutak, General Counsel
Dale Short, Mid-West Counsel John
Shepherd, the MPIPHP Trustees and
members of the Basic Agreement Bargaining
Committee appeared before
the Board to report on the Motion Picture
Industry Pension & Health Plans.
With the negotiations for the Basic
Agreement scheduled to commence
in March 2012, Vice President Miller
advised the Board that the focus of
this report would be those issues that
relate to the upcoming negotiations.
The International retained the services
of the David Binder Research
Group to create and distribute surveys
to union members who participate in
the MPI Plans. A series of focus group
meetings were held to work on the
survey and help shape it. The entire
bargaining committee was involved in
the process.
The initial survey was distributed
and followed up by reminder emails.
The end result was a 37% response
rate (11,500 completed surveys)
which, according to the consultants,
is a very high participation rate and
greatly enhances the reliability of the
data. Vice President Miller described
the information received as critical to
negotiations.
The next step was to hold a series
of town hall meetings. The first two
were for union officials in a position
of leadership in both Los Angeles and
New York where the results of the
survey were reviewed. Members of all
affected Locals were invited to the remaining
four town hall meetings.
In total, President Loeb presided
over and moderated two town hall
meetings in New York and four in Los
Angeles. Also attending the meetings
was John Garner, a national health
care consultant engaged by the IA
who is an expert on Taft-Hartley
Plans; David Wescoe, the Executive
Director of the MPIPHP, and several
members of the MPIPHP staff. Hundreds
of questions were presented
and comment cards were solicited.
The events were extremely well received
and served two important
functions. First, they provided critical
information to the IA leadership as
to the opinions and priorities of the
membership and, second, educated
the membership of the current challenges
facing the Plans.
Vice President Miller recognized
and thanked Representative Vanessa
Holtgrewe for recording the events,
and Cathy Repola and Ron Kutak of
Local 700 for facilitating the editing,
and noted that the finished product
is now available for viewing on the
IA website.
Moving on to general business of
the Plans, Vice President Miller reported
that the “non-affiliate” participation
issue reported on at the Mid-Summer
GEB in Boston, MA is still ongoing
and remains unresolved.
Vice President Miller advised the
Board that a contract dispute arose
between Blue Shield and the UCLA
Medical Center resulting in this provider
now being “out-of-network”
as of January 1, 2012. This change
in status affects several thousand
MPIPHP participants. George Palazzo,
Co-Chairman of the MPI Board
of Directors, has been instrumental
in establishing continuity of care
programs to assist participants in the
middle of ongoing care at the UCLA
Medical Center. This program assists
participants in situations where
changing providers would be problematic,
such as transplants, maternity
and premature child birth. The
Plans are currently exploring other
options by a RFP process and intend
to have a new medical network
and utilization management provider
lined up by August 1, 2012. The
UCLA Medical Center is in network
with all of the providers under consideration.
As to the upcoming negotiations,
Vice President Miller reported that
the bargaining committee has been
preparing for three years and is thoroughly
ready. The Segal Company
has been retained as an outside consultant
on both Pension and Health issues.
Negotiations will commence in
March 2012.
Trustee Palazzo indicated that,
with the Plan funding issues, they are
facing the fight of their lives and are
ready for the challenge. He thanked
all Plan Committee members who donate
their time and perform their duties
with diligence and focus.
President Loeb interjected and
declared that nobody does more
work than George Palazzo. He
thanked Trustee Palazzo for his great
leadership and tireless effort. He
noted that the deficit, once projected
to be over $1 billion, has been reduced
but remains a moving target.
He commended the Benefits Bargaining
Committee on implementing
many new ideas under Vice President
Miller’s leadership. President
Loeb declared that the bargaining
team now possesses a deep understanding
of the issues and is well
prepared for this difficult challenge.
President Loeb lauded the impressive
way the Committee has handled
this task, including lining up all the
necessary consultants and experts.
He stated that he feels confident that
due to these unprecedented efforts,
we are now equipped with the appropriate
bargaining strategies to address
the real needs of the people
we represent.
52 Official Bulletin First Quarter 2012 53