IATSE_3rd2017_web

provide safety and skills training to IA
members. For the first time in the Basic
Agreement, companies meeting certain
criteria will put payroll deposits in place
to guarantee IATSE wages and benefits.
In summary, the IA made historic
advancements in these Basic Agreement
negotiations. Employer-paid benefit contributions
are estimated at $100 million
during the term of the contract (plus
more than $43 million every year thereafter).
Meanwhile, IA members incurred
no cuts in health benefits (for example,
no increased costs for dependents, and no
increases in the number of hours needed
to qualify for eligibility). This exceptional
outcome can be attributed to many elements.
Above all, however, the strength,
solidarity and leadership of the IATSE
(including its bargaining committee, local
unions, and members) were key factors in
our collective success.
Shortly after the conclusion of Basic
Agreement bargaining, the Area Standards
Agreement (ASA) was renegotiated.
Leaders of the affected IA Locals
served on the IATSE’s committee along
with International officers and staff. Bargaining
commenced at the offices of the
Alliance of Motion Picture and Television
Producers (AMPTP) in late April of 2015.
Goals for these negotiations included
raising yearly wage increases; increasing
employer-paid health contributions; establishing
employer-paid contributions
to the IATSE Training Trust Fund; securing
jurisdiction over certain locations department
employees; and clarifying that
set teachers work in IATSE covered classifications.
Negotiations lasted four days and
the Alliance secured its major priorities.
The new ASA includes yearly 3 percent
wage increases. Daily benefit contributions
increase by five dollars per person in
each year of the contract. Employers now
contribute for the first time to the Training
Trust Fund for each hour worked by
every IATSE employee. These significant
contributions will provide safety and
skills training for the members who work
within ASA jurisdictions long into the
future. As with the Basic Agreement, the
ASA’s new media terms now deliver superior
conditions for members working
on high-budget SVOD productions. This
was an important gain for IA members
engaged on these projects around the U.S.
Below the high budget tiers there
were other improvements. IA members
working on new media productions with
a budget of less than $25,000 per minute
will receive five dollar per day increases in
benefit contributions in each year of the
Agreement. In addition to these robust
economic gains, locations department
jurisdictions were defined and set teachers
are now in a verified contractual classification.
These clarifications will secure
the financial outlook for many IATSE
members.
Safety concerns were also addressed
in the renewed ASA. Extended workday
safety guidelines were incorporated into
the body of the Agreement. Employers
may now provide courtesy housing or a
ride home when crew members are too
tired to travel. These stipulations coincide
with the requirement that employees
receive 10 hours of rest after consecutive
workdays of 14 hours or more. All
call sheets must also list the studio safety
officer and studio safety hotline.
These features provide long-term
stability for IATSE members within
the motion picture industry across the
country. The ASA bargaining committee
unanimously endorsed the contact and
it was ratified by the General Executive
Board.
The IATSE’s Low Budget Theatrical
Agreement (LBA) was negotiated
twice in the last four years. This contract
imparts beneficial working conditions to
a segment of the industry which—in the
not distant past—was principally completed
with non-union labor. It covers
hundreds of companies throughout
North America producing features with
budgets of $14.2 million or less.
In November 2013, IATSE officers
and representatives of Locals from across
the U.S. and Canada met in Los Angeles
to negotiate a successor contract. After
these negotiations, the LBA became the
first national contract with weekend
turnaround. In addition, it now includes
portal-to-portal language for daily turnaround,
and pay increases for specialized
work. Meal penalties and per diem
payments were increased and wages will
increase in accordance with the terms of
other major agreements. The LBA now
contains language preserving IATSE work
(thus curbing subcontracting), which is
stronger than any national IATSE production
contract. With this advancement,
we hope to stem the use of mobile labs
and other non-union entities.
In September of 2016, the parties
again agreed to industry standard wage
and benefit increases, thereby ensuring
three more years of stability for IA
members working on low budget features
in the U.S. and Canada. The LBA
recognizes the economic challenges of
THIRD QUARTER 2017 57