Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1058399
THE ARTISAN FALL 2018 • 11 Being a Director/Trustee of MPIPHP (Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans) has been a high point in my career and one of which I am very proud. I was appointed to this post by past Int'l President Tom Short, and my position was sustained by President Loeb when he took office back in 2008. Being part of MPI has been very gratifying, along with allowing me the oppor- tunity to give back to an industry that has been so good to me. This position has also been a chance for me to learn the ins and outs of our health and pension funds, so I can be more informed to be able to help our members with basic answers to their ques- tions or get them to the right party if I don't know the answer. Thank you to MPI CEO David Asplund, CFO David Camp, Janice Spinner, Chief Medical Officer for MPI, the actuaries and lawyers, the talented MPI staff and administrators, George Palazzo, Senior Director Participant Services, Vickie Fins, MPI Board Secretary, and all the employees who work tirelessly for the 50,000-plus par- ticipants that MPI services. Thanks to all for their dedication and also to those who were always willing to help me and give counsel when needed throughout my tenure. Lastly, I would be remiss not to recognize and give my sincerest thanks and praise to my co-workers in the Local 706 office. Thank you to Sue Cabral-Ebert and Randy Sayer, they have been unwaver- ing in their dedication and devotion to our Local. The three of us always spoke as one, and worked together to give assistance and advice to whomever called or needed our counsel. To Kathy Sain, our office manager, Diane Burns, our accounting specialist, and Linda Flores and Hailey Swartz, our dispatchers—they all helped to keep this office running like a well-oiled machine and kept us all on track, organized and on time. They all have been 100 percent committed in their dedication to our members, and have been my family away from home. When the dust settles after our Officer elections, I pray that whomever is at the helm as your new Business Representative will continue to fight for equality between make-up and hair; to push not only for yearly education for our members to hone their crafts and stay ahead of the competition, but will carry on and uphold the working relationships we have built up with the studios, labor relations, CSATF, the International and all the Hollywood locals; to carry on the fight to keep production here and to keep them from leaving in the first place; to work with the IA to help them to organize nonunion productions, to keep fighting for labor, and supporting labor-friendly legislators; to continue to work with the International to help combat and stifle the anti-union rhetoric so rampant in our society today. We are a "Labor Union," and we must uphold that standard for our survival as a Guild. With the holidays ahead, there is no better time to remember that there may still be some of our members who are in need; to keep up their hours for their healthcare, or to pay the rent or even to just put food on the table. Whatever the reason, please be generous. Most importantly, embrace those close to you every day. A smile, a caring moment and a little generosity can make all the difference in the world to someone who is hurting and in need. With that, may you, your family and friends have a wonderful holiday season. Please enjoy your issue of The Artisan. Sincerely and Fraternally, The holidays are just around the corner, and we will be celebrat- ing 2019 before we know it. This coming new year, besides bring- ing new work to California via our state incentives, our Roster members will be working under a new and better Basic Agreement. This contract took a good year of prep involving all the Hollywood locals, meeting with their committees and the International, doing strategizing, research and a lot of planning. We had some very dedicated members who represented Local 706 as our bargaining committee, and they were Daniel Curet, Karen Westerfield, Darryl Fielder, John Goodwin, Randy Sayer and Sue Cabral-Ebert. Kudos to them for all their hard work and dedication at the table. As I have said since the ratification, this contract was the most lucra- tive and successful agreement we have dealt with since I have been an Officer of our Local. Everything was a positive. Besides getting a good raise with no takebacks or giveaways, we strengthened our place in new media as a vital and fundamental part of our world for the future, and made advances in funding from "streaming" that will help fund our Health and Pension for the future. We attained a better turnaround for Roster members, along with strengthening and expanding protections relating to safety. There are more posi- tives I could list, but you get the idea ... this was a great accomplishment with many moving parts! With my retirement looming as a 50-year member of our Local, and this being the last Artisan column I will be writing as your Business Representative, I would like to acknowledge and thank some very important people who have been in my life for the last 15 years as your representative. First on my list are our Officers, and our Boards, not only for their dedication to all our members, but their commitment to help make our Local strong and sustainable for years to come. Their hard work truly exemplifies what "labor" and unionism is all about; not only in solidarity, but truly caring for our members and their Local. Thanks for the support, friendship and counsel of the IATSE, the International, specifically Int'l President Matthew D. Loeb and Int'l Vice President/Dept. Director, Motion Picture & TV Production and Officer-in-Charge of the IA West Coast, Mike Miller. Whenever our Local or I needed assistance or encouragement, they, along with the staff and representatives at the IA office here in Burbank and New York, were always there for us and had our backs. The same goes for the Business Reps and Officers at all the Hollywood locals. They all are like family to me and I will miss them. Equally important has been the good working relationships that our Local has developed through the years with all the Hollywood studio executives … the Labor Relations/Vice Presidents in charge of production. I learned early on as your Business Representative that being successful at this job is directly related to being able to have positive conversations with not only our members in the workplace, but with the people in management who control our jobs and manage the contracts for the producers. Being able to pick up the phone and have an in-person one-on-one with those who call the shots for the studios and independent productions has been a cornerstone of getting things done for our members, whenever there was a problem that needed to be addressed in the studios or on location. They have always been open and amenable to positive conversations to make things work better for both our members and management. LOCAL PERSPECTIVE by Tommy Cole Business Representative, I.A.T.S.E. Local 706