Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1124767
LABOR REPORT UNION LABEL Thank you CDG sisters and brothers for the Distinguished Service Award at this year's CDGA event. It was breathtaking to see from the stage all of you in attendance stand in support of CDG pay equity. Why the CDG pay equity 'fix' is needed is to end employment disparity, for like and equal work, in a female-dominated craft. Pay disparity denies our female-dominated CDG working families' economic security on a par with the IATSE male-dominated craft of production design. Wage disparity affects all CDG family members, women, and men alike, in our craft. Costume Designers need a wage increase that reflects parity with other department heads. Lower wages affect pensions and IAP benefits, as well as Social Security and Medicare, all of which determine the quality of life for our retiring CDG members. CDG members are worthy of a better contract floor, which better reflects the artistry, influence, and added profits to productions in after- market revenue due to the influence Costume Design has on the public. Recently, Walt Disney's outspoken heir, Abigail Disney, has been arguing for better salaries for lower wage workers. A $15 minimum wage, double the federal minimum wage, was agreed to at Disneyland in the last round of negotiations. Worker productivity is up over 70 percent across the United States, yet in the last 30 years, wages keep falling behind the cost of living. We can fix this by capping executive payday and giving raises to workers to compensate them appropriately. In solidarity, Betty Madden, CDG Labor Delegate bmadden@cdgia.com