CineMontage

Q3 2017

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57 Q3 2017 / CINEMONTAGE SB 1772 and HR 3071. The purpose is to rein in both the causes and consequences of the intensifying use of more restrictive, last-minute scheduling of work. The resubmitted national bill attempts to re-create elements of what some other states and cities in the United States, as well as other developed countries around the globe, have already proposed or implemented, adds Golden. The Schedules That Work Act uses three main features, with the overarching idea of setting a minimum floor standard that reduces short-term cost advantages for employers who rely on scheduling practices that shift the costs of uncertainty in their business on to hourly paid employees. IATSE HOLDS 68TH CONVENTION The International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees began its 68th international convention in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on July 17. More than 840 delegates representing 270 locals from the US and Canada arrived at the Diplomat Hotel to caucus and review the business of the international union. The Editors Guild sent a delegation of 13, who were elected from the Los Angeles and New York branches to represent MPEG members during the course of the six-day convention. Members of the delegation commented that the proceedings "felt very much like a turning point" in the international alliance, as issues about diversity, women's rights, violence in the workplace and minority inclusion were discussed along with the more typical agenda of organizing, workers' rights, increasing the minimum wage and health care. There was a new prominence for women's issues. Editors Guild National Executive Director Cathy Repola, who serves as chair of the newly formed IATSE Women's Committee, moderated a panel discussion of women professionals in the union. Not only was it fully embraced by IA President Matt Loeb, but it drew a sympathetic, standing room only audience. There were also several notable speakers and panels. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) addressed the gathering via videotape from Washington. "I want to start with a big thank you to International President Matt Loeb and Women's Committee Chairwoman Cathy Repola," Warren said. "The battles that IATSE women have fought have helped level the playing field not only for women but for all working people." UNIONS PUT MUSCLE BEHIND BILLS IN CALIFORNIA While California legislative sessions frequently include lots of union-sponsored bills, writes Dan Walters for The Sacramento Bee, "the 2017 session is seeing a particularly strong push by union leaders." By far the year's strongest union campaign is the California Nurses Association-supported legislation, Senate Bill 562 by Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), to create a single- payer health-care system costing approximately $400 billion a year. The nurses argue that it would improve health care by eliminating provider profits, but it would also give the union opportunities to use its political clout in what would be a state- operated health-care system. An indicator of that goal is another bill by Lara (SB 349), sponsored by the United Nurses Association of California and other health-care unions, to set state-mandated staffing requirements for dialysis clinics that, opponents say, could drive up costs of treatment. The news item that follows elaborates on this issue. CALIFORNIA SENATE PASSES SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE The California Senate approved a measure in early June aimed at establishing a government-run universal health-care system, writes Taryn Luna for The Sacramento Bee. The system, which would replace Obamacare — or whatever follows it under the Trump administration — would dramatically improve the health-care market in California. Approved on a 23-14 vote, it moves bravely to the Assembly. In late June, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-South Gate), put the brakes on the sweeping single- payer plan, calling the bill "woefully incomplete," write Taryn Luna and Christopher Cadelago in The Sacramento Bee . Rendon emphasized that his action does not kill the LABOR MAT TERS Left: The Editors Guild's National Executive Director Emeritus, Ron Kutak, was recognized as an Outstanding Leader by IATSE president Matt Loeb at the IA's 68th International Convention. Photo by Jeff Burman Right: IATSE President Matt Loeb congratulates the Guild's National Executive Director Cathy Repola on receiving the union's Woman Leader Award. Photo by Sharon Smith Holley.

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