Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1314367
Fall 2020 – LOCAL695.ORG 5 FROM THE PRESIDENT WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE…? Dear Brothers and Sisters, I wish all of you a warm holiday season. I have worked on the Board of Directors for almost thirty years, and for the last fifteen years/five terms, you have given me the privilege to serve as your President. In fact, I have become the longest-serving President in the community of West Coast IATSE Locals; it seems to have all happened in the blink of an eye. My involvement in Local 695's leadership has been closely tied to my passion for filmmaking and I have been fortunate in both pursuits. When I started my sound career, I was not able to become a member of Local 695 for five years. It was a time when new faces in the Union were not welcomed, but feared, as being competition for too few jobs. But my father taught me, "Failure cannot cope with persistence." It was so clear to me that if we did the same work, we could not afford to be enemies; we needed each other to leverage our way to better wages and conditions. I had fire in my belly and this was why I got involved in the Trade Union Movement; that fire remains unquenched to this day. Unity, inclusion, education, and mentoring; I loudly proclaimed these principles very early in my Local 695 involvement. Seeing how deeply rooted they have now become in our Local's culture has been one of the greatest joys of my life. The achievements during my time in Union leadership fill me with humility and pride. They are the result of hard- fought battles on many fronts. Ultimately, they have become pillars of our institution. The list is long and significant: A DYNAMIC SENSE OF COMMUNITY is first among these as we come to realize that we share the same goals, be it contract negotiation, organizing, member services, or compassionate common sense. The International President has recently called us the "Jewel of the IATSE." Our standing in the industry has skyrocketed because you—the members—have embraced the purpose of your Union and your personal stake in the institution. INCLUSION is the true organizing spirit. We are often the first to arrive and last to leave when the struggle for representation or any other urgent issue is in play. EDUCATION for the membership is essential. For a long time, we had no coherent training policy or program. I made the promise that this must change and now we have broadened a world-class education program to keep our highly skilled technical community abreast of the tsunami-paced changes in our tools. Organizing and education come together to create the obligation of mentorship. As we have been helped, we must help others. We must help those coming up in their careers. I believe this stewardship preserves and extends the life of our community indefinitely. We have something NO OTHER LOCAL has in the contract!!: our Y-16a training program. The trainee program serves all the parties it touches; the members, the trainee, the employer, and the community. All of these require COMMUNICATION; now a broadly respected publication keeps our members and others in the industry well apprised of our essential contribution. When I became a member, we didn't have a publication, website, or directory. In fact, it was fought against! Now, try to imagine their absence. What brought services into existence was the persistent will of those of us who would settle for nothing less.