Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1123465
THE ARTISAN SPRING 2019 • 9 This situation came to light with a number of IA locals that also had members who had been adversely affected by this prob- lem with SDI. When the CIC set its goals for 2019, a resolution to this problem was researched. Meetings with the Employment Development Department were held to try and achieve a solution, however, state bureaucracy blocked the path. Fortunately, Sen. Scott Wiener (D-SF/San Mateo) stepped forward to author SB 271, a bill that will hopefully rectify the situation, as well as correct the injustice of entertainment workers' inability to participate in the Parental Leave Act. The first Senate Committee to hear testimony in support of SB 271 was the Labor Committee. The IATSE was repre- sented, as well as the California Labor Federation, testifying on behalf of the bill with no one in opposition. Sue Cabral- Ebert (CIC r e p r e s e n t a - tive), Guild President Julie Socash and hair stylist Colette Slattery, along with approxi- mately a dozen IA reps, all sup- ported the tes- timony given. With no oppo- sition, SB 271 will now move forward to an Appropriations Committee. We are thankful to the leadership of International Vice President Thom Davis, Business Rep for Local 80, whose leadership and guidance has been focused on getting this situation remedied as it affects many IA members. Cabral- Ebert is a member of the Legislative Committee that has been instrumental in bringing this forward on behalf of members of Local 706. GUILD NEWS GUILD NEWS California IATSE Council—SB 271 Update by Sue Cabral-Ebert 2014 was a turning point for the IATSE, and Local 706 proudly helped to achieve breakthrough legislation that brought significant film and television production back to California through tax incentives never before achieved. It was the formation of the Entertainment Union Coalition (EUC), an organization that brought together unions throughout the entertainment industry, a unified force brought together to rejuvenate our jobs. It worked. The EUC is still in existence as a legislative advocacy group, but the California IATSE Council (CIC) has spun off to focus on legislative solutions specific to IATSE members through the state of California. The members forming the CIC are business representatives and their appointees who have blazed trails independently, getting to know their legislators, participating in state, county and city politics and labor boards. They bring that familiarity with the various legislators to the IATSE table. Several years ago, it came to light that the California State Disability Insurance (SDI) did not always cover members when they went on location. It was a huge sur- prise that came to light when a number of California resident IATSE members found that no deductions had been taken out of their payroll when they were working out of state. Only CA, HI, NJ, NY and RI plus Puerto Rico offer state disability benefits, and it is paid for directly by the employee. So, if a CA member did not check off the correct box and was transported to GA, they would not have had contributions while working out of state. This is what happened to one of our members who was injured in an accident when she returned to California. It was not a workers' compensation situation, she was not working on the job when injured. It was four years and more than five surgeries of torture for the member.