Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1124770
15 Q2 2019 / CINEMONTAGE clear-eyed analysis: "It is our responsibility during negotiations to secure additional funding from the producers to bolster revenue streams." Union members are working more hours than ever before. "This is good," she continued. "However, more hours being reported does not fix the long- term funding problem of the pension plan. We did not propose an increase in the pension hourly contribution rate." She added that the next contract negotiations in 2021 will be "imperative to achieve new residual streams" from so-called New Media streaming. Repola also made reference to an elephant in the room. Following last year's contract negotiations, she was removed in October from her position on the Board of Directors of the MPI Pension and Health Plans by the President of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Matt Loeb. Members viewed this as retaliation for the Guild's Board of Directors voting unanimously to recommend against ratification of the Basic Agreement. The membership-at-large voted overwhelmingly to do exactly that. However, Repola saw a silver lining, noting that the Editors Guild has "been really busy," explaining, "Our committees are more active than ever, providing important needed avenues to enhance member engagement on so many levels. It's really incredible to witness, and I have made an effort myself to participate in as many as possible. And while Matt Loeb removing me from the Board of Directors of the Plans was absolutely wrong and obviously retaliatory — and Local 700 should absolutely have a Director on the Plans — I can say that he freed up an awful lot of time for me to be involved within the membership and to continue our mobilization efforts in a way I may not have had time to fully do otherwise. So maybe I should thank him for that sometime." FRIENDLY ENGAGEMENT WITH OTHER IATSE LOCALS Repola said she would continue enhancing contract education to members in the podcast series "Post Coast-to-Coast," which is streamed from the website www.EditorsGuild.com. Some in attendance suggested that Guild members engage with members of the other IATSE locals who make up the West Coast Bargaining Unit, which meets every three years to negotiate the Basic Agreement. Although last year the Editors Guild was the lone holdout among the group, more than 47 percent of all voting IA members disapproved of the contract. Members also speculated that there is change in the air, as well as a renewed sense of union activism, as evidenced by results of recent elections by the script supervisors (IATSE Local 871) and the property craftspersons (IATSE Local 44). The elections demonstrated a healthy union democracy with a larger-than-usual number of these local members voting, which resulted in a change in leadership. Further discussion ensued to encourage union participation by getting to know other IATSE members of the crew on productions, both in person and on social media. "Invite them as your plus-one to union screenings and mixers," suggested one member. "Getting to know the different issues that the IA crafts face is paramount to creating unity." CHANGE THE CULTURE IN THE WORKPLACE The Guild's Membership Outreach Committee organized the Town Hall to create more opportunities for members to directly engage with Guild leaders and Board members. Committee co-chairs Stephanie Brown and Molly Shock, ACE, addressed the meeting and hoped that a precedent would be set to hold Town Halls every spring, followed by the General Membership Meeting each fall. A recurring theme discussed by members at the meeting and online on the "I Am the Union" Facebook page concerned working long hours — sometimes in excess of 15 hours per day — especially in television on pilots and first seasons. Repola suggested that members report their experience to the Guild as part of an anonymous survey on the Guild website. In the last contract negotiations, an exception was made for Editors Guild members to receive only nine hours of turnaround time, the rest/break between the end of a shift and the start of the next. The other guilds in production received 10 hours. Discussions continued regarding the responsibility of members to support each other by writing down overtime hours and meal penalties Co-Chairs of the Editors Guild Membership Outreach Committee Molly Shock, left, and Stephanie Brown.