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Locals have increased their engagement with the community,
as well as political activism, people in California know who we
are. They know what industry we work in; they know we are
middle-class, working members of the community. Politicians
and community partners see the IATSE emblem now and have
no confusion as to what that means and what we do. I don’t
think you could say that before the activism started to really
take off.”
A 5K HomeWalk, sponsored by United Way of Greater Los
Angeles to raise funds to end homelessness, is an example of a
large, area-wide event that has really taken off, with the involvement
of many IATSE production Locals. The AFL-CIO sponsors
an umbrella team called “Homeless Heroes” that specifically
benefits homeless veterans in L.A. County. Last year labor unions
with the Homeless Heroes team raised more than $30,000.
“That was partnered with a match from the Hilton Foundation
for a total of $90,000 making Homeless Heroes one of the
top six teams in the event for the third year in a row,” recalls
Vanessa Holtgrewe, Assistant Department Director of Motion
Picture and Television Production and a National Executive
Board (NEB) Member for Local 600. “IATSE Locals 80, 600, 800,
and 871 are among those who have been part of that Homeless
Heroes team over the years. Finding walk sponsors comes from
members’ own personal Facebook pages, as well as, in the case
of Local 600, a donation voted on by their National Board for
this year’s [2017] event.”
IATSE social activism can come in all shapes and forms.
Sometimes it’s not an event that’s taken months to plan, but a
swiftly mobilized reaction to an acute need. That was certainly
the case following the devastation Hurricane Maria brought to
Puerto Rico last September and the frantic scramble East Coast
IATSE Locals underwent to get relief to the island. For victims of
Maria, which included IATSE Local 494 and Local 600 members
based on the island, it’s not just water and electricity that are in
scarce supply – nearly two months after the storm. Cellphone
coverage is almost nonexistent; cars are damaged and roads are
destroyed or blocked by debris.
As Dan Mahoney, Assistant Department Director of Motion
Picture and Television Production and former Business Agent
of Local 52 in New York City tells the story:
“The AFL-CIO sent notice that the Seafarers International
Union was making shipping containers available to send to
Puerto Rico, but the timeline was only one week to get it done.
Local 52, led by Benefit Board Trustee Jeremiah Dalton and Local
8, led by Business Agent Tricia Barnes-Vargo, had already been
soliciting donations for the relief effort from their members. So
the International became a conduit between the Locals and the
AFL-CIO to get a shipping container delivered to the Port of
Philadelphia. Local One was also involved in making a sizable
contribution so Local 8 could purchase items on the AFL-CIO
manifest. The Locals were able to fill a 50-foot shipping container
with donated and purchased supplies. It was amazing.”
Local 891 President Mitch Davies (3rd from right) and representatives from
Teamsters Local 155, and the DGC-BC, receive certificates of appreciation
for their support of the 2017 Reel Thanksgiving Food Bank Challenge.
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