Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/407863
73 NOV-DEC 14 / CINEMONTAGE in defined benefits plans?" asks McNay. A 2003 study by Lawrence Mishel and Matthew Walters showed that 72 percent of union workers received a pension benefit, while only 44 percent of non-union employees received the same benefit. If the gap was that wide in 2003, it's reasonable to assume it's only wider now. Historically it was a good deal. Union employees would know at an early age that they would work for one stable company for the rest of their lives. They would have insurance when they were sick and the confidence to buy a house and raise a family. And they knew they could expect a good retirement, no matter what else went on in the world. A company would know that it had a lifetime employee and could count on that loyalty in its planning. As defined benefit plans go away, so too does the safety net for older Americans. While most bankruptcy filers are under age 54, there is a steady rise in bankruptcies of people over age 55, adds McNay. The concept of the 401k plan has not been good for America. It forces people who are not trained in investments to make investment choices, often from a baffling selection. It forces people to ride stock market waves where they have no control of the action. It doesn't compel people to stay with an employer, as longevity does not score any points like it did with a defined benefit plan. The biggest problem is that we are drifting toward a baby-boom generation that will run out of money during its senior years. A simple option to protect lifetime benefits would be for people to roll their 401k plan into an immediate annuity that would pay them — and often a spouse or family member — for the rest of their lives. Labor unions came along a century ago when workers were being exploited and needed a way to counteract management excess and greed, writes McNay. We've lived through decades of Wall Street greed and excess, and no one seems to be counteracting them. f LABOR MAT TERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 70 the impossibility of completing work on the show without a union agreement, the employer eventually relented. On October 10, exactly one month after the walkout began, we reached an agreement to return folks to work under an IATSE contract. The win came at a great cost, but our solidarity ultimately trumped their stubbornness. As I write this, the Shahs victory is still fresh; we will require more time to extract from this experience all the lessons it might yield to inform our future organizing. But the strike affords one clear lesson for those who oppose our organizing: They can run down the clock, but they can't turn back time. Our solidarity is neither a short-lived nor a fair-weather phenomenon. It's what we believe. It's who we are. We have the strength to hit hard, and the cohesion to withstand punishment. Together, we win. f GET TING ORGANIZED CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 AJA Video Systems 2 Blackmagic Design 1 Columbia Pictures 49 Content and Communications World 67 DreamWorks Animation 18-19 Disney Pictures 45 E² Sound 39 EditorsPetition com 75 Footage Bank 4 Fox Searchlight Pictures C2, 21, 33 G-Technology 61 IFC Films 23 Motion Picture & Television Fund 70 NAB 2015 C3 Paramount Pictures 25, 31, 55 Sony Pictures Classics 11,17 Technicolor C4 Universal Pictures 12 Universal Studios Operations 63 Warner Bros Pictures 8, 14 Warner Bros Sound 5 20th Century Fox 51, 53 ADVERTISERS INDEX RSVP Hotline: 323-978-1095 The Motion Picture Editors Guild Hollywood office offers a special RSVP hotline for screenings for our members who do not have access to a computer or have not yet registered an e-mail address with the Guild Please leave a message, including your full name — and spell your last name — to RSVP for the upcoming screening SCREENING NOTICE ANNOUNCEMENT Scared? Afraid of retribution? Tired of being taken advantage of? Let the Guild staff assist you A form has been posted on the Guild website allowing members to inform the office (anonymously if desired) if there is a need for a field representative visit www.editorsguild.com/violationreport.cfm Contact: Dan Dodd 310-207-4410 ext 236 dan@ingledodd.com CINEMONTA GE JOURNAL OF THE MOTION PICTURE EDITORS GUILD Advertise in Reach the Best Post-Production Profes- sionals in the World!