Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1487667
60 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Winter 2023 But what is Solidarity? For as much as we casually use the word, there seems to be confusion about exactly what it entails. Does Solidarity mean paying your union dues and going to work? That's part of it to be sure. But if that is where participation within the union ends, our outcomes will never meet our needs or expectations. Here are three simple ways you can build Solidarity and make your union stronger. Report Your Jobs At the bottom of nearly every Local 695 announcement email that the office sends out, there is a link to a form labeled, "Report Your Jobs," which serves several important functions. Our members are our union's eyes and ears in the field. Our office staff cannot be everywhere at once and cannot know everything that is happening on all of the shooting sets in Hollywood. And as you might imagine, the production companies aren't always forthcoming when it comes to sending us this information. But with your help, we have the ability to watch every production in town. When a member calls to report a grievance or dangerous working conditions on the set, the 695 Reps can be more reactive and resolve issues more quickly if they already have the information you submit on the Report Your Job form. In cases where a job is near the end of its run, having this information ahead of time can mean the difference between whether or not your Representatives have enough time to intervene and address the issue or not. In the case of union productions, the information in the job reports is critical to enforcing our contracts. This job information is just as important, if not more so, when it comes to non-union productions. It may seem counterintuitive to report non-union productions to your union, but the IATSE takes great interest in what is happening in the non-union world. Many union signatory companies will use a series of LLC's or subcontracted production companies in order to dodge their responsibilities to our members and launch productions without union representation. These non- union productions undercut the terms and conditions that producers agree to when they sign our contracts and gives them access to skilled craftspeople working for less than the conditions we negotiate. It's understood that sometimes we take non-union work when there is no alternative. But by making the office and the IATSE aware of non-union productions being crewed by union members, it presents an opportunity to flip these productions so that you, your family, and your colleagues will receive improved wages and working conditions, as well as the benefit hours to fund your healthcare, pension, and continuing education programs. Reporting non-union work and helping us to flip non-union productions is to everyone's benefit. Article X in the Local 695 Constitution & Bylaws (www .local695.com/constitution-bylaws/#blart10) outlines the members' responsibility to report ALL jobs to the Local. Whether the work is IA or non-IA, a long-running production or just a day-call, live-broadcast, commercial or music video, reality or sports… Please report your jobs to the Local! Submit Your Working Conditions Report At the bottom of almost every Local 695 announcement, there is a link to the Working Conditions Report directly beside the Report Your Jobs form. This is where members can report issues they face on the set, including meal break abuses, long and excessive hours, turnaround violations, harassment, discrimination, and other unacceptable behaviors. The Working Conditions form helps to address these problems in two ways. The first is to keep the office continually informed about the challenges our members contend with at work, regardless of whether or not they are prohibited by contract. Just because an issue is not acknowledged or prohibited by a working contract does not mean that it is not an issue that needs to be addressed. And if it is one that is occurring regularly and affecting a sizable portion of our members, it is worth trying to regulate during our next cycle of contract negotiations. To do this, your Representatives need citable examples, with details and dates. This means that ongoing problems that you experience should be reported early and repeatedly. Did a problem you reported on your last production happen again on your next one? Report it again! Each case study provides more weight when our Reps argue for a resolution, whether that be in a grievance, in an arbitration hearing, or in contract negotiations. So members are encouraged to fill out the Working Conditions form whenever they encounter a problem on set. Remember, if you're facing a problem at work, you probably aren't the only one. But secondly, the Working Conditions form is designed to assess the effectiveness of the conditions outlined in any given contract. Have excessive meal penalties diminished since the contract was ratified last year, or is this an issue we need to revisit in 2024? Entire days without meals? Fraturdays? We know that the producers try to subtly (or unsubtly) sidestep the contracts they've signed. Plenty of addressed problems are still happening on set. But when these issues are brought up during negotiations, we present a stronger argument when we can back them up with facts