From The National Executive Director

HOW THE GUILD STAFF WORKS TO ENFORCE CONTRACT PROVISIONS

Just as the work that our members do is behind the scenes, so are many of the functions of our union staff. Much of their work is little understood and always looks different from the outside.

One very important component of our staff is the contract enforcement department. Many members come in direct contact with these folks for work-related issues, but even then, much of what they do can remain a mystery.
While it would be impossible to demystify all of it here, there are areas where we can shed some light.

We have employees dedicated to researching projects; putting new contracts and single production deals into our database; securing crew lists; outreach to inform crew members of contract provision highlights; outreach to inform management of the most commonly misunderstood or most violated contract provisions; and analyzing payroll records on projects that had deposits (or bonds) with payroll companies, in order to ensure members were properly paid and no contract violations occurred before releasing those bonds. This is just a brief overview of the many details involved with all of the components of this work.

In addition to myself, Eastern Executive Director Paul Moore, and Western Executive Director Scott George, the staff members of the contract enforcement department include our field representatives. We have one in the New York office, Jennifer Madar, and five in the Los Angeles office: Jessica Pratt, Ann Hadsell, Olie Amarillas, Alenis Leon and Eric Kench.

Preserving the rights of the membership under the collective bargaining agreements is one of the most important roles of a union, which is why we have chosen to highlight some of those duties here. These dedicated staff members work tirelessly to assist the membership in all sorts of ways. Often, that means explaining contract provisions to members, but it can also include helping them navigate the challenges associated with addressing potential contract violations or other workplace issues. We now oversee hundreds of different contracts with varying classifications, scale wages and working conditions. This can sometimes be daunting for staff, let alone for the members.

Success cannot be fully measured by showing total wages collected on behalf of members for intentional or unintentional misapplication of the union agreements. Neither can success be fully demonstrated by totaling contribution hours attached to those wages, contributions that should have been made on behalf of members but simply were not.

However the numbers have an important purpose. They show all of us, as union members, the real meaning of organized labor: Members working together, exercising their right to have employers uphold the wages, terms, and conditions required by collective bargaining agreements. I hope these results will encourage you to contact your field representatives if you have any questions or concerns about your union agreements.

These first two tables show the amount of wages, vacation and holiday pay, and corresponding pension and health contributions collected on behalf of members during 2020.

Sometimes violations occur where we cannot point to a member or group of members who were directly harmed. For example, if the production entity failed to employ a music editor and assigned that work outside the bargaining unit, we seek damages for that violation. If collected, they are usually paid directly to the Guild, or sometimes donated to non-profit organizations that provide vital services to members of the entertainment industry.

Violations can occur under all of our contracts, so knowing what you are entitled to can help minimize these problems. I hope this encourages more members to seek our counsel regarding contract enforcement issues. And while this particular article highlights the work of one department, I am very proud of and grateful for the dedicated service to our members that the entire staff demonstrates daily.

*Of this amount, $56,000 was paid to the pandemic relief fund of the Motion Picture Television Fund and $30,000 was paid to the pandemic relief fund of the Actor’s Fund. 

By Cathy Repola

In January 2020, I was the recipient of the American Cinema Editors Heritage Award at their annual Eddie Awards banquet. I remain humbled by being selected to receive this award and deeply appreciative to ACE for the acknowledgement. One of the things I said during my acceptance speech was that I thought this was a perfect way to start a year that I believed was going to be a great one for our union.

Two months later, the pandemic took hold, shutting down production in our industry (and many others) and causing not just the loss of jobs, but also instilling a profound fear of catching a devastating, potentially life-threatening virus. That virus ultimately led to widespread economic hardship and loss of life. It turned everything upside down and moved my attention away from what I thought would be my focus, and forcing me to turn instead to crisis management mode. My primary focus was the concern for how all of this would impact our members financially, health-wise and psychologically.

Of course, I had no idea how long it would last or how we would need to adjust to ensure we were an adequate support system for the membership, whatever their needs. The education process for safety protocols was learning on the job. I started recording videos for the members in my home without sophisticated equipment — which I assure you was particularly nerve-racking since it was being distributed to professional audio and video experts. I started the series “Coffee With Cathy” (titled not coined by me, and I did resist, but it seemed to have caught on). I sent out so many email blasts, I may have oversaturated you all, but I felt it my job to ensure that you had every possible piece of information I had. It was all new and different for me and, in fact, I loved it. I loved it because it kept me feeling connected to all of you. Those of you who have known me for awhile know how important that part of my job is to me.

Then, just a little over two months later in May 2020, the country erupted into massive protests over systemic racism, which was not just allowed to exist but was promulgated for centuries. And again, I was met with a new challenge, one I found myself admittedly completely unfamiliar with, and yet one I also fully embraced. I did so because I quickly awakened to the fact that systemic racism lives and breathes in the workplaces of our members. Quite frankly, that is just not acceptable. I have already written much about this and the initiatives your Officers, Board of Directors and I took on to address it. With the help of an outside consultant, Elevated Inclusion Strategies, we provided training for our Board of Directors and our entire staff, with supplemental training for the contract enforcement staff, in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. This same company will help us strategize and enact change to assure that ALL of our members are treated with dignity and respect and all are afforded equal opportunities to excel in their crafts. Look forward to more on this.

As we wholeheartedly bid adieu to 2020 (or more honestly, kick it into the stratosphere), I know we all hope for a better year and some resumption of normalcy, or as many are calling it, the “new normal,” whatever that is. If this year can bring good health, more employment and a positive turn in the overall economic damage created by the pandemic, then it will undoubtedly be better. Everything is relative. But with the issue of racism, returning to what had been the status quo is the exact opposite of what we need to do. We need to move boldly and profoundly forward.

Let us remain consistently proud of what we can achieve through unity, strive always to be better, and open our hearts and our minds to the differences we have and to what unites us.

We share a community of interest and objectives as a union, and it is through our collective goals, the dedicated work it takes to achieve those goals and the aspirations we hold for the future that we will continue to succeed.