IATSE_1st2017_web

STAGECRAFT
Membership Growth
Increases Diversity
Union membership density in the United States and Canada has been on the decline for several
years, yet IATSE membership is growing. In 1993, the 100-year anniversary the Alliance,
membership was 74,344. Today we represent over 132,000 working people in the entertainment
industry. As our membership has grown, so has the diversity of the Alliance. As our
membership develops to reflect a diverse society, one of the main ways we can represent our
members is to assure equality in the workplace through our contracts with employers.
WWW.IATSE.NET
Why is this important?
As members of the IATSE, we know
that Unions empower workers and their
families as employees and citizens. One
of the main ways that the IATSE can assure
empowerment in the workplace
is the transparency that is provided in
collective bargaining agreements. These
contracts increase fairness and prevent
discrimination in the workplace. This
is one way Unions help in the fight for
equality in the workplace.
Employers typically promote a culture
of secrecy around what others are
paid. This pay secrecy makes it easier to
be arbitrary on wages and ignore discrimination
in the work place. With a
Union contract everyone can see the rates
that have been collectively negotiated.
Under the National Labor Relations
Act, all workers have the right to engage
in “concerted activity for mutual aid
and protection.” This means coworkers
can get together and talk about things
that matter in the work place, including
wages. Often times people are uncomfortable
talking about wages in the work
place, regrettably this perpetuates pay secrecy.
Most working people don’t know
they are allowed to talk about wages, so
few know their rights.
Unions typically raise workers’ wages
by 11% on average, but collective bargaining
has an even greater effect on
wages of people of color by increasing
earnings by more than 17% on average.
When workers stand up together to negotiate
a contract, they have the ability to
request information from the employer
that is relevant to the negotiations. This
includes pay rates for all employees who
would be covered by the contract.
A prime example of this was a recently
organized group of workers negotiating
their first contract. They noticed,
when comparing the wages of all the
workers in the bargaining unit, a person
with a non-European American sounding
name made $2.00 per hour less than
other workers. This was despite the fact
that the job classification and the years of
service were the same as other coworkers.
This became an important issue for
the unit to assure that all of the employees
would have pay equity. Things have
changed for that employee, through
the process of coming together with
one voice the workers created fairness
through transparency. All employees in
that job classification are now paid the
same.
Another way a collectively bargained
contract can protect workers and provide
equity is in non-discrimination clauses.
Many contracts state that the employer
cannot discriminate based on age, race,
religion or gender. It is important for
local unions to also add sexual orientation
and sexual identity to these clauses.
Even though the US Supreme Court established
a constitutional right to samesex
marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges,
in thirty-one states an employee can be
fired solely for being gay. If an employee
is transgender they only have protections
in the workplace in three states in the
U.S. That is not the case if the union has
negotiated this clause in their contract
for their protection. That is why adding
these classifications is so important for
our members.
So as the IATSE continues to grow,
we must remember that in addition to
providing fair wages and benefits for
workers, a collectively bargained contract
is the most effective way to reduce inequity
in the workplace.
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