Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/756468
80 CINEMONTAGE / Q4 2016 80 CINEMONTAGE / Q4 2016 minted Executive Director of the Editors Guild. I was impressed with his grasp of editors' issues and his ability to implement the provisions of our contracts to protect editors in the workplace. It is difficult now to imagine the political climate of the Guild in the late '80s. The studio system was breaking down. Editors no longer had staff positions. Working freelance, we were put in isolated and precarious positions. Older members of the union had a bulwark of qualifications built on seniority that blocked younger members from moving up the ladder, and banned non-union editors from their ranks. There were as many qualified editors working non-union as there were editors in the union. It was the Wild West in Hollywood — something had to give. Ron and I had numerous conversations about the deadlock in the Guild. What could be done to change an organization that was ossified and resistant to change? After I was elected President of the Guild in 1988, with Ron's direction and the leadership of the Board, we defined long- term goals and plotted incremental changes. We drafted and ratified a new Constitution and By-Laws for the Guild. We abolished the old seniority system. We renegotiated our contracts with producers to allow qualified non-union editors into the Guild. By the end of 1989, the logjam started to break apart. The more controversial part of our program took more years to implement: the consolidation of regional guilds to form a National Editors Guild. Ron and the succeeding Guild President, Donn Cambern, accomplished that goal in 1998. Under Ron's leadership, the Guild has grown from a union of editors to a post- production Guild — from a union of under 3,000 to over 7,400. There is power and comfort in such strong numbers. In countless ways, Ron has steered us each step of the way to be an inclusive union, a family that protects itself and looks after one another. I know I am deeply indebted to Ron, for his foresight and his ability to act on our behalf. How many cigars in the back rooms of power did it take for Ron to move mountains? Who's counting? Thank you, Ron, for your diligent work and dedication all these years. Carol Littleton, ACE Motion Picture Editors Guild President, 1988-91 Editor Representative, 1992-93 Vice President, 1994-2001 n I have been a member of the Editors Guild since 1955. When I decided to run for President of the Guild in 1992, I saw it as a way to give something back to our industry and our Guild. I am grateful to Ron Kutak for his openness in helping me learn more about our union. Ron and I had a wonderful working relationship. I doubt if any other union Executive Director could match his skills. He went into studio contract negotiations like a master chess player. I saw him get tough, but never angry. When he said he would do something, he did it. And he had a beautiful way of presenting something difficult to the Board, always preparing me in advance of meetings to make things as clear as possible. As president before me, Carol Littleton, along with Ron, brought solidarity to the Guild with great finesse. We needed it for the digital revolution that turned our editing world upside down. The older members swore to stand by their Moviolas, but Ron knew we had to nurture our members to change and grow. He likened the new technology to a speeding locomotive: "If we don't get on the train, it'll run right over us." Led by Ron, with the power of the Guild behind us, we got Avid Technology to give us its latest equipment, and Contract Services to fund digital editing training. This became possible because Ron made it possible. Approaching the year 2000, our Local 776 grew dramatically with three big mergers. After months of difficult negotiations, we joined with Local 771, the New York Editors Guild, and became a national guild — Local 700. During our first discussions in New