Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/309120
8 CINEMONTAGE / MAY-JUN 14 by Rob Callahan R ecently, a new applicant for membership asked me, "After I join the Guild, can I still work non-union?" As most members know, there is a simple answer to her question — Yes. She probably won't want to accept non-union employment if she has other options. Only when she is working under an IATSE contract will she receive employer contributions to her health and retirement plans and otherwise enjoy all the benefits of union work. But the Editors Guild won't stop her from taking a non-union job. Unlike some other unions in the industry — the actors and directors guilds, for example — ours does not prohibit members from working for non-signatory employers. Every now and again, someone will suggest that the Editors Guild implement such a policy, requiring members to forswear their right to work non-union jobs, but those proposals never seem to gain much traction. However much our members prefer working union whenever possible, few are keen on giving up their option of ever taking non-union gigs. That is especially the case for members working predominantly in those sectors of the industry (digital labs, post-production facilities, animation, documentaries, commercials, new media and unscripted television, etc.) where much or even most of the employment opportunities now remain non-union. SAG-AFTRA refers to its prohibition on non- union employment as "Global Rule One," a title that gestures to the policy's importance to their organization. Indeed, before the merger of SAG and AFTRA, some SAG members who resisted the consolidation had argued that merging would undermine actors' strength because it would result in the dilution of Global Rule One. (Global Rule One has, in fact, been retained by the merged organization.) Clearly, for those labor organizations that bar their members from non-union employment, such a proscription is central to how they define themselves. Why, then, do different unions in the industry take such different approaches to the prospect of union members working non-union jobs, and what is the significance of this difference in terms of how we exercise solidarity? With Global Rule One, SAG-AFTRA's strategy is to limit access to an elite pool of talent and to leverage such limitation to lend bargaining clout to all of its members. A producer has to pay all of a show's performers under the terms of a SAG-AFTRA contract if it wants to be able to cast a recognizable, let alone a bankable, star. The union's strength thus derives from exclusivity; it functions as doorman for a coveted club. This gatekeeper function allows it to push back against the usual forces of supply and demand in a labor market with very few employment opportunities and a seemingly unlimited pool of job seekers. Although the number of job seekers in post-production classifications generally exceeds the number of jobs available in post, the ratio is not nearly so lopsided as the ratio of aspiring actors to available roles. And, although the artistry and skills of our most accomplished members are much in demand and are key to the filmmaking process, there are no bankable editors — nor Foley artists, story analysts, etc. — in the way there are stars. Our strength as a union therefore derives not from our ability to wall off employers' access to a highly sought-after elite few craftspeople, but instead from our ability to unite folks working in all crafts and at all strata in post-production, as well as from our steadfast alliance with artists and technicians in all the IATSE-represented below-the- line crafts. We do not want to erect walls between members working union and non-members on non-union jobs, but instead to bring folks currently working non-union into our tent and under the coverage of union contracts. If a strategy of limiting where members can work is predicated upon strength through exclusivity, our union operates on a model of strength through inclusivity. Such a strategy can only be effective, though, when union members working for non-union employers take responsibility for helping to expand the coverage of our contracts. Members working for non-signatory employers function as the Guild's ambassadors to those workplaces, as well as our eyes User/Prev. User ECD CD Art Director Copy Writer Account Mgr Studio Ar st Traffi c Produc on Round Job # Descrip on Last Modifi ed Client Bleed Trim Live Gu er Print Scale Publica on CONTENT SETUP Loca on Fonts Placed Graphics Inks Minion Pro (Regular; OpenType), Trade Gothic (Bold, Light, Bold No. 2, Oblique; Type 1), Interstate (BoldCondensed; L1_Pro_Choice_Bkgrd. f (CMYK; 265 ppi, 263 ppi; 8.5MB; 113%, 113.68%), L1_WLAP_Vincent_ss1_CMYK. f (CMYK; 293 ppi; 2.2MB; 24.5%), L1_Laforet_Red_Gray_Back_Crop copy. f (CMYK; 279 ppi, 279 ppi; 3.8MB; 107.33%, 107.28%), L1_LaforetPlane_CMYK. f (CMYK; 823 ppi; 23.4MB; 36.43%), L1_Laforet_USOpen_CMYK. f (CMYK; 639 ppi; 15.8MB; 46.89%), L1_Laforet_Visuals_CMYK. f (CMYK; 1664 ppi; 80.8MB; 18.02%), L1_G_Raid_Thunder- bolt_Hero_HiRes_CMYK.psd (CMYK; 1780 ppi; 90.3MB; 16.85%), L1_G-SPEED_eS_CMYK.psd (CMYK; 1145 ppi; Cyan, Magenta, Yel- low, Black WD | Chad Kukahiko LA Xerox C75 14HIT0397A HGST WLAP Vincent Laforet Print 3-28-2014 10:37 HGST 8.75" x 11.125" 8.5" x 10.875" 8.25" x 10.625" None None CineMontage Magazine (May/ June) P. Fujimoto N/A J. Vichez L. Birkenstock J. Tade N. Espiritu R. Thompson A. Wise 2 / FINAL Chad Kukahiko / Noel Espiritu PERSONNEL From location to studio to post, pros like Vincent Laforet stake their reputations on the unmatched performance and fl exibility of G-Technology storage solutions. with Thunderbolt™ G SPEED eS As Vincent Laforet's work has become more technologically sophisticated, his storage needs have risen exponentially. Shooting RED Epic and HDRx can yield a stream of 6GB per minute – and he can need 100GB of storage for just one hour of footage. Choosing the right drives is an obsession. "My workfl ow always involves using G-Technology," he says. On-set he immediately backs up everything to a G-RAID ® with Thunderbolt ™ , and he uses a G-SPEED ® eS for both storage and editing later. Because shooting a 5K resolution with frame rates of up to 120fps would bring slower storage systems to a grinding halt. But the G-RAID with Thunderbolt is more than 12x faster than FireWire 800. And even though that 6GB-per-minute load yields a 100MB/s throughput stream, the G-SPEED eS handles it easily with four Enterprise-class drives and up to 12TB total storage. Visit G-Technology.com to learn more about how G-Technology storage can help you work like a pro. Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Design by G-Technology in California. G-RAID, G-SPEED, G-Technology logo and G-Technology are registered trademarks of HGST, Inc. and its affi liates in the U.S. and other countries. ©2014 G-Technology, a division of HGST, Inc. All rights reserved. g-technology.com/WLAP WORKS LIKE A PRO " YOU JUST WANT DRIVES THAT WORK ALL THE TIME. THAT'S G-TECHNOLOGY." – Vincent Laforet, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, fi lmmaker and Local 600 and Directors Guild of America member S:8.25" S:10.625" T:8.5" T:10.875" B:8.75" B:11.125" GET TING ORGANIZED The Importance of Being Inclusive CONTINUED ON PAGE 54 CineMontage_May-Jun_14-3.indd 8 4/15/14 2:42 PM