IATSE 3rd 2019_web

and Lighting Technician classifications.
Low budget commercials’ budgets
were adjusted to reflect inflation and
are defined as those with single day
production costs of $120,000 or less
and an aggregate of no more than
$600,000.
At the summer General Executive
Board meeting in Montreal, the Board
voted unanimously to ratify the agreement.
The new commercial agreement
went into effect on October 1st.
The gains underscore the need
to report non-union commercials to
your Local as soon as you are booked
for the job. To maintain control of this
industry, and thus be able to negotiate
strong agreements such as this, we must
stamp out non-union commercial
production. Commercial work is union
work!
CASTING THE NET CATCHES AN ANTI-UNION COMPANY
This past July, the IA became aware of a non-union lowbudget
web series shooting in Los Angeles called “Casting
the Net”. As is standard procedure, the Locals began
collecting authorization card signatures and a visit to the set
was planned for a Monday.
Sunday night, the Unit Production Manager called the crew
together at the end of the day. She angrily told them that they
were all fired for attempting to organize. She’d spoken with
the owner of CineFocus Productions and he proclaimed that
he would never sign an agreement with the IATSE. Shockingly,
everyone was asked to raise their hands if they supported the
union; the majority of hands went up. Department heads were
called into tense private meetings with the producers and
director. The crew was shocked and angry. “Could they do
this?”, they asked each other as they left.
The answer is no, they can’t. And if they do, there are
repercussions.
As David Portnoy, Barstool Sport’s anti-union owner has
recently learned, seeking union representation is a protected
activity under the law. And publicly announcing the reason
you’re firing someone because of their union activity is cutand-dried
illegal and punishable by law.
While the IATSE was preparing to file an unfair labor
practice charge against CineFocus Productions, HLK Visions,
Inc. and Casting the Net, LLC, we heard the company had
recrewed and planned to finish shooting.
On August 8th, a picket line went up and quickly, a large
portion of the newly-hired crew walked; of course the company
had not told them that they were replacing fired workers. Those
people, both members and non-members alike, joined the
original crew, IATSE Representatives and West Coast Locals
on the picket line. The producers crowed that they would not
pay those who had walked. Piling illegal action upon illegal
action, the Locals helped these workers file wage claims with
the state. Unfortunately for the company, California has some
of the strongest late wage penalties in the country.
The energy only grew from there. For the next six days we
met them with “UNFAIR” written large on dozens and dozens
of picket signs. More crew quit. More members from the IATSE
and other industry unions joined the line. The production
shrunk to an inexperienced skeleton crew who had to keep
pushing locations because they couldn’t stay on schedule.
The police kept the peace as the producers threatened us.
They failed to drive us away. We were loud and disrupted
them at every opportunity. Their tempers flared repeatedly and
we just chanted back at them, “SHUT THEM DOWN! SHUT
THEM DOWN! LA IS A UNION TOWN!”.
The crew members who had been fired or quit joined their
union brothers and sisters and kin walking the line day in and
day out. They showed everyone what standing up for what you
believe in is a fight worth taking on, every time. Their strength
in the face of these anti-union bullies was inspiring and fueled
the marchers.
The fight now turns to the Labor Board and the California
Labor Commissioner’s Office. Crew members have stepped
forward to provide their testimony of the illegal acts committed
by this disreputable company. Justice won’t be as swift as any
of us would like, but the IATSE will never stop pursing this
company or its principals to make the crew of “Casting the
Net” financially whole.
MOTION PICTURE & TELEVISION PRODUCTION
THIRD QUARTER 2019 25