635 - IATSE Local 8 Philadelphia

OFFICIAL NOTICE
This is to advise that the regular Mid-
Summer Meeting of the General Executive
Board is scheduled to be held at The Westin
Bayshore, 1601 Bayshore Drive, Vancouver,
B.C. V6G 2V4 at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, July
23, 2012, and will remain in session through
and including Friday, July 27, 2012. All business
to come before the Board must be submitted
to the General Office no later than
fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting.
Local Union representatives planning to
attend the meeting must make hotel reservations
with The Westin Bayshore by calling
(604) 682-3377. Guest room rate for the
IATSE is $205.00 (CAD), plus applicable taxes,
for both single and double occupancy. In order
to ensure that you receive the preferred
room rate established for our meeting, you
must identify your affiliation with the IATSE.
Cut-off date: June 21, 2012
The Stage Caucus will be held at The
Westin Bayshore on Sunday, July 22, 2012,
9:00 a.m. in the Stanley Park Ballroom Salon
1. Representatives of Stage, Wardrobe and
Mixed locals are welcome.
There will be an Education Seminar on
Wednesday, July 25, 2012, in the Stanley
Park Ballroom Salon 1 at The Westin Bayshore.
More details to follow.
Time to be ALL IN!
IIn a situation we could never have foreseen, labor seems locked in
life and death struggles these days. When legislators vote against the
best interests of their constituents, when labor unions are characterized
as negative influences on our country, and when voters themselves
are sucker-punched by big tech companies, we’ve been backed
into a corner we are fighting like hell to get out of.
Ironically, this “corner” doesn’t really exist. It’s a fabrication by those
big business interests intent on depriving working families of proper working
conditions, pension and health benefits, and the pride we have always
felt in our organizing efforts. With Indiana’s recent passage of state right to
work legislation, the fight has come into the heartland of America, where we
have always held a strong position. State after state, anti-worker legislation
is high on the agenda of those who would like to turn the clock back to a
time when workers had no voice. So, now more than ever, we need to fight
back and fight hard.
The only way we can turn around what seems to be a growing anti-labor
tide is to show how labor unions really work – how we protect our members
from unsafe working conditions, how we watch out to see that benefits are
provided, how we give working families a choice to better their lives and
the lives of their children.
We in the United States are facing national elections in eight months. It’s
not too early to get involved, especially in our own neighborhoods, to see
that those candidates who do have labor’s best interests at heart are elected
or re-elected this November. In some places that fight will be a difficult one.
We have to redouble our efforts there to support those running for office
who have a pro-labor agenda and who are not afraid of big companies and
their public relations machinery intent on capturing the media debate.
One area of particular interest and concern to the IATSE, in the United
States and Canada is the effort to stop content theft. That debate in Washington
was hijacked by misleading PR campaigns forged by companies like
Google and Wikipedia, who deliberately made the Stop Online Piracy Act
and the Protect Intellectual Property Act seem like censorship, as if we were
intent on “shutting down the Internet.” In Canada, Bill C-11 has received
similar treatment in the media, with scare tactics and half-truths being spread
widely in an attempt to have the bill quashed.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. And the one thing that no anti-
SOPA/PIPA faction wanted people to do was read the legislation itself. What
the IATSE, in concert with other guilds and unions are campaigning for
couldn’t be farther from those accusations. What we are trying to do, what
we feel it is necessary to do, is to protect the creators and crews of motion
Continued on page 8
OIn Recognition of Longevity
Our union will celebrate its 119th birthday this coming July and be
an even 120 years old when we come together for the 67th Quadrennial
Convention next summer. Of our 380 local unions, 118 are now
at least one hundred years old, and by next July another 17 will join
their prestigious ranks.
Over long periods of time, unions such as ours build up a rich history
and develop many traditions. Within the IA one of our strongest traditions
is the respect and recognition for those that have paved the way for us, our
senior members. Whether these individuals have served their union by holding
elected office, represented the membership as Stewards or simply were
good and active members, these Brothers and Sisters are held in the highest
regard by their fellow union members.
In the pages of each Official Bulletin we usually publish photos of individual
members being recognized for their length of membership in their
local union, but many of you may not be entirely familiar with what those
“awards” actually are.
The 45th Convention (1960) of the I.A.T.S.E. approved a recommendation
of the General Executive Board that would allow any member of the
Alliance who was 65 years of age or more, and who had at least 25 years
of membership with the I.A.T.S.E. to apply to their local union for Retired
Membership status (the 65th Convention (2005) approved the elimination of
the 25 year requirement). The 49th Convention (1968) approved a further
recommendation of the General Executive Board that a member already
classified as Retired by the International who had been a member for 25
years or more and who reached the age of 75 would be eligible to receive a
permanent membership card known as a Gold Card.
Another item available from the International that recognizes longevity
of membership is the 50-Year Scroll signed by President Loeb and myself.
The presentation of this scroll has no impact on per capita payments and the
recipient may still be an Active member. Holders of this award are members
of a very exclusive group.
Your local union may already count within their membership one or
more Gold Card and 50-Year Scroll holders. If you were fortunate enough to
witness their presentation I am sure it is
a moment that you will always remember.
These long-time members deserve
our recognition and our thanks and this
is one small way to do it.
JANE DOE
LOCAL NO. 000
1962 – 2012
Retired Status
In accordance with Article Fourteen,
Sections 1A & B of the International Constitution
and Bylaws, the per capita tax for
a retired member shall be in the reduced
amount of $4.50 per quarter. Retired members
shall have voice but no vote at union
meetings and are not eligible to hold any
office. They may serve as delegates.
Holders of Gold Cards shall be considered
lifetime members and be exempt from
any per capita payments to the International.
Personal Checks
In order that the processing of membership
applications is not delayed, local
unions are reminded that all processing
fees and back per capita payments for reinstated
members forwarded to the International
must be drawn on a local union bank
account and be made payable to “I.A.T.S.E.”.
The International does not accept personal
checks submitted by applicants and
if these checks are received, they are returned
to the local union for replacement
which delays the processing time for new
applicants.
4 Official Bulletin First Quarter 2012 5