Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512826
4 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Winter 2024 a company [who shall remain nameless], who makes equipment that we use in this industry, has taken his employees down to three days a week. He did mention to me that he honestly needed to take them down to one day a week because that's really all he could afford, but he's worried that those employees, who he's had for thirty years, will leave him and that's too scary to him. I've listened to the story on NPR just about dry cleaners to prop houses that are furloughing employees or closing their doors completely. This is damaging, because we are losing something here that we are not going to be able to get back. There's the financial impact, but there's also just the impact of just the stories that are being told, the prop houses, the costumes, all of that is just getting tossed and thrown away. How do you feel about going back to work? Member 3: It's even scarier because even when we do go back, I'm already on the bottom of the totem pole. People who haven't been working, it's gonna be like, 'grab my guys that need to pay their mortgage' … [and] at the same time, there's people that have been doing it for thirty years, twenty years. So, we're low [on the totem pole], might not be back for months after that or weeks after that, or I don't know, you know? So that's something that concerns me and my position. Member 2: Just so you know [Member 3], I feel the exact same way. I feel like I'm at a point, I mean, I've been fortunate, but I just know that there are so many people that have been doing this for a hell of a lot longer than me that have more name recognition than I have. And I have such, such anxiety about when will I get my first call to go back? Because I do, I think of myself too, as being lower on that ladder than some other names. So just know that you're not alone in that fear, because I carry that same one with me. That's my concern too, is that when we come back, the top-tier guys are going to get the first calls. And depending on how many shows come back, there may not be enough shows to then go to the second tier of guys, and then the third tier of guys, you know? Member 7: For me, as a woman, who doesn't have children, I found coming out of the pandemic, I was one of the last of my group to get called because everyone was calling people who had families first. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but that same fear is in my head. "Am I even going to get a call?" because I know all the men I work with, all have kids, and all those guys stick together. Have you thought about alternatives to this business? Member 2: We don't really have a skill set that's transferable. Some of us are deep in the hole, metaphorically speaking, because of the investment we've made in equipment. It's not an easy shift to find something else. It's not like we can just turn around and pick up. And like I said, getting seasonal work is next to impossible unless you are already in the retail world or in the food service industry. No one is going to take you because you're not going to be able to sign on for any sort of substantial amount of time. They're going to train you and then you're going to leave for a job. And retail companies are aware of this. And so that's not realistic either. And I think you could look in to the gig economy. You could look in to Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, all of those, which are miserable. You don't make a ton of money. From my aspect, "Yes, I own a car. Yes, I can drive. Honestly, I'd be afraid for my safety to be an Uber or Lyft driver in the city." I don't want to deal with strange random men in my car. Absolutely not. So that's not an option either. There really isn't a lot out there for us other than going on disability and going through unemployment… It is important to FROM THE PRESIDENT note that there is not a wide range of options for us to make money outside of this very niche-specific set of skills we have for this industry. Member 6: So, we're one of those dual film households... And now, [my wife's] unemployment ran out. And so, there's zero. She's finding stuff to do, which is great, but not much… I think there's a real false sense of fallback. Member 1: I looked. I thought maybe I could do something in the meantime, but it's hard to get seasonal work or apply for jobs that, frankly, are part time. They pay less than unemployment. So I'm extracting myself from being useful to the family as the taxi service for the kids and cooking and helping out as much as I can at home, where I wouldn't normally be there… I think some people if you're at the end or at the very beginning of your career, then you have a little more room to pivot, but when you're bang in the middle and you have ten years away from getting all the hours that you need to retire, fifteen years away or twenty years away and that finishing line is a lot more distant, but the starting line is nowhere near as well, then it's a little harder to change at that point. What do you think the future looks like? Member 4: I remember when it first started, I thought it was going to last two or three months and then everything would come back. But then once it started getting longer, I started to think like, "oh, maybe I should switch over to something else." But then just thinking about starting off new somewhere else, I was like sound is what I really wanted to do. I think it was around July, I started to think maybe I should shift into something else. It has been tough during these past few months, for sure. And so, I remembered PAing and then I got into sound a year ago. I just kept thinking about how much fun I had working on set and doing sound. It's a bit of a pause, but I still want to continue working in sound because that's what I worked hard to get into and that's something that I would like to continue and move on up; maybe someday become a sound mixer as well. So that's still my dream… So in a way, the strike actually reinforced that this is really what you want to do. Member 6: And these strikes have all been under the guise of we're helping the next generation through. The problem is we're wiping them out; wiping them out before they even get a chance. So that next generation I'm talking about isn't even a writer or an actor now. Because this strike is wiping out a whole level of people. And that includes us. I have incredible anxiety when it comes to work… And yet we're still resolved. We're going through this, but we are still strong and will do nothing less than accept a fair contract when our time comes… And just like when we started talking, I think it's really important [to talk and be heard] because I feel the noise of our pain and suffering, and nobody's hearing it. And yet, as Member 6 just stated, we are still resolved. I sit with you. In Solidarity, President Jillian Arnold