Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/855478
16 CINEMONTAGE / Q3 2017 GET TING ORGANIZED talking union, and they determined to fight the movement. Starting in late August, they instructed employees to attend a series of on-the-clock meetings in which managers exhorted them not to organize. Deluxe's CEO even showed up to conduct meetings himself. These town hall meetings were supplemented by one-on-one interviews in which individual bosses spoke to individual employees alone, without witnesses. Employees were told not to trust promises from union organizers. They were told that organizing would introduce a third party that would get in the way of a direct and healthy relationship between management and employees. They were told that union negotiations could drag on interminably, but that management could make improvements on the job right away if employees voted not to unionize. They were told that contract negotiations could actually leave them with less than they already had. Such pressure tactics from management are the norm in organizing drives. Often, these "union avoidance campaigns," as they're euphemistically described by union- busting attorneys and consultants, work. Bosses' constant haranguing can introduce enough doubt or anxiety that workers abandon their organizing aspirations, opting instead to stick with the status quo. The law bars employers from using explicit threats or bribes to discourage employees from organizing. Employers will step right up to that legal line, however, and sometimes over it. In one-on-one meetings, in which improper conduct is tricky to prove, management can speak even more freely about potential rewards for loyalty or punishment for disobedience. Even if bosses scrupulously avoid explicit threats or promises, management-run anti-union campaigns are intrinsically coercive. Having your boss repeatedly admonishing you how to make up your mind is an infringement upon your free choice, whether or not there's mention of consequences for failing to heed that advice. Management's strong-arm tactics often succeed, but not always. Fortunately, employees who have built strong bonds and who have committed rank-and-file leaders can weather a campaign of anti-union bullying and naysaying. Despite Deluxe having spent several weeks pressuring DTDC employees to reject the organizing effort, in the fall of last year they voted by a margin of more than two-to-one to unionize with the IATSE and Editors Guild. It was a huge victory, and a dramatic rejection of management's pressure campaign. "Management tried very hard to discourage our union organizing," said Lopez, "I'm extremely proud of all my co- workers for standing in unity and believing in themselves." Winning union recognition guarantees a group of employees a voice on the job. But to make material improvements in working conditions, employees must then use that voice to demand and secure a fair union contract. Negotiations for an initial union contract at a fixed facility are seldom speedy, in part because they require a lot of preparation on the union's part. Employees need to be surveyed and have an opportunity to weigh in on collective priorities. A bargaining committee needs to be assembled to represent their coworkers at the negotiating table. Contract proposals need to be drafted. Even after the overwhelming vote in favor of unionizing, DTDC employees had to continue pressuring management to come to the table and negotiate in good faith to reach a fair agreement. Over the course of several months, employees attended mass meetings; wore union buttons, "Contract Now!" T-shirts and "Union Strong" baseball caps to work; marched into the boss' office to deliver a petition urging movement on key issues; and even took part in a brief, half-day work stoppage to protest management's failure to negotiate in good faith. The company hadn't wanted these jobs to be union, and it took continuous pressure to get CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 AMARILLAS JOINS GUILD AS FIELD REPRESENTATIVE Olie Amarillas has joined the Editors Guild as a Field Representative in the Los Angeles office. With over a decade of experience in post- production distribution, he has witnessed its biggest transformations, from bulky, heavy 35mm film cans to weightless hard drives. For the last five and a half years, Amarillas worked for Deluxe Technicolor Digital Cinema and, in that time, he specialized in dealing with clients, budgets, equipment and keeping his team happy. He was also instrumental in the recent organization of DTDC. "Olie will be a great addition to our team," commented Scott George, the Guild's Western Executive Director. "He worked for many years at Deluxe Technicolor Digital Cinema, which was organized last year, and was on the negotiating committee that worked to achieve the recently ratified contract there." Outside of the office, Amarillas enjoys traveling to Laughlin, Nevada in the summer and Onyx, California in the winter, so he and his family can get away from the city and their fast-paced lives. At home, you will find him playing Hot Wheels with his son and Barbies with his daughter, and driving his better half crazy.