The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
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LMGI COMPASS | Winter 2019 • 53 Location professionals are the leading edge of production. We find and arrange the settings, backgrounds and locales for a production's action. Often the majority of the screen image comes from location professionals. When moviemaking came to California in early 20th century, it was the Wild West—certainly no unions. Stories abound about shooting 72 straight hours with crews sleeping on the sets, rolling a dead crew member in a carpet until after wrap so the day's work would be finished, and worse. After tumul- tuous decades of union organizing, by the '60s, the vast ma- jority of film crew workers in the Hollywood studio system were unionized. Those above the line—DGA, SAG and WGA held firm contracts with studios, which represented most large commercial productions. For below-the-line crews, the IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) represented most crew members while Teamsters Local 399 Hollywood represented industry drivers, tour drivers, animal wranglers and warehousemen. However, for many years, two key crew positions were with- out union membership and protection. These were location managers and casting directors. Beyond wage and other ben- efit issues, this presented special difficulties for these crew members and their families since in the US, health insurance is often dependent on employment, and employers are not re- quired to provide it. Many other advanced countries provide health coverage to all citizens. Health insurance is a critically important union benefit in the States. Because the Location Department's work is closely related to that of the production department, in the mid-'70s, some lo- cation managers approached the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in Los Angeles for membership. DGA includes produc- tion managers and assistant directors. Some key DGA mem- bers rejected this proposal, fearing that the new location members would want coveted assistant director jobs. In the late '70s, I landed a job as a Teamster studio driver and, based on long overtime hours, I'd been making almost $1,000/ week. But when I made the change to location manager, my wage dropped to $450/week with no benefits and a lot more responsibility. So I was motivated to get unionized and hoped to bring location managers into the Teamsters. A group of us ap- proached the Teamsters Local 399 for membership. The Teamsters agreed and, studio by studio, we organized the employers to sign a union agreement with Teamsters to cover location managers. This involved 5 a.m. picket lines which stopped produc- tion because Teamster drivers and most IA crew members would not cross them. Sometimes the threat of picket lines was enough. By the '80s, most major stu- dios signed on to union con- tacts for location managers (there were no assistants at the time). This provided a wage standard, health and pension benefits, and many more benefits common to other workers in the union- ized film industry. The difference was enormous. We went from being lone rang- ers to part of the family. Our comprehensive contract includ- ed benefits such as: • Scale wage rates • Health insurance • Dental and vision insurance • Union support for work problems • Retirement pension • Vacation and holiday pay • Grievance and arbitration procedures • Well-written contracts, with renegotiation about every three years. • Eventually, job classification categories (location manager and ALM), hazardous work compensation, safety and training classes, scholarships for members' children, website and social media, etc. Even after we organized, location professionals doing similar but nonunion work were on their own, negotiating conditions and wages as best they could. To some degree, this meant that too much complaining could result in difficulty finding work. The union location managers formed a Steering Committee within Teamsters Local 399 and worked to set appropriate policies for professional development. Over the years, the location managers' contract has been expanded and refined. Around 2001, location professionals working in commercials came into Local 399. Within a few years, casting directors joined and gained union benefits. "Everyone working in our industry deserves fair wages, benefits and working condi- tions," comments Local 399 Secretary-Treasurer Steve Dayan. As a former location manager, he is especially proud to have helped organize the Los Angeles-based commercial location scouts and managers, as well as casting directors and associ- ates into Local 399. Dayan observes, "We are all made stron- ger by having these hardworking members in our union." Teamsters Local 399 represents the largest group of location professionals in the US, predominantly in the western states. Presently, in addition to location managers, scouts and loca- tion assistants, they represent drivers, casting directors, music video technicians, studio tour drivers, animal wranglers, couri- ers, dispatchers, mechanics and warehouse workers. Victoria Harding wears an ACFC shirt on her first location job in Quebec City in 1989. Photo courtesy of Victoria Harding Teamsters Local 399 Secretary- Treasurer Steve Dayan