[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [ARSCLIST] How many of us in unions? (was Poor sounding concert halls.)
Hello Robert,
I empathize with your experiences. The reality of people and politics
is that anything can be used for good or evil. The original reason for
unions, in my opinion, was to improve the working conditions of the
general worker and develop a protection against abusive employers, a
prime example was the organization of migrant field workers in
California by Cesar Chavez. There certainly was and is a need for some
sort of protection for those workers.
Unfortunately, power corrupts, and over a period of time, the original
reason for a union can be lost in a "them against us" kind of
discrimination and hard headed regulation.
As a former union board member, I and other workers on the board were
able to gradually make changes to help other nonunion craftspeople to be
covered under our umbrella without discrimination. Today, a nonunion
motion picture editor can join the union if she/he has worked in the
industry a given period of time even though it's nonunion work. This
also applies to assistant and apprentice editors, so it's the level of
expertise that governs the job classification. Granted that when I
first worked union in the '50s, there were some very unfair and
exclusive practices. Today, I think we've become a bit more
enlightened, realizing that anyone doing our kind of work should have
equal pay and treatment. Hopefully, times have changed in the general
labor movement, since strength lies in numbers, not exclusion. What's
good for one is good for many.
Having said that, I'm sure there are still abusive union practices
throughout the world. All unions are not equal, and by their very
nature, they are a group of people coming together in a common cause.
As a result, what might initially be a democratic organization can
become a dictatorship if members become too comfortable with the status
quo. As with our country, vigilance and voting on how things are done
is a constant necessity. We can't just let the "other guy/girl" do it.
To comment on your email:
Robert Hodge wrote:
I've only had 3 incidents with unions-ALL BAD !!
1- A former friend (??) who,was vehimently anti union until he got a highly paid union job as an elevator mechanic who then instantly switched his position that only a union worker could do the job( ANY job ) properly.
Power and MONEY both corrupt!
Anyone in academia was a person who obviously could not find a " Legitimate " i.e"Real" position anywhere else and was consequently useless to society.
I don't exaggerate !!
My education was more important to me than what I ended up doing for my
life's work, IHO. I feel that higher education gives one more
understanding of the arts and sciences of our societies for whatever
purpose. Hopefully, in the broader spectrum of our society, I like to
think that we can become better citizens and able to contribute in
making things relatively equal "with truth and justice for all". Of
course, that can be considered as naive by many in the cold light of the
"real world".
2-A union member of IATSE / MPMO was allowed to access a projection booth in which I was the primary projectionist for 15 years and managed to burn out a motor controller which had been in weekly use for over 70 years because they didn't know how to use it and wouldn't ask how it worked. The union didn't have to pay for it either- this "projectionist" was just kicked out of the booth permanently.
Stupidity isn't limited to any group, but too many dumb acts will get
any worker fired, union or otherwise, today.
The union promised a strike against the theatre which would have blocked all stage shows that required union stagehands from the theatre if a union projectionist wasn't immediately installed. Making me a member of the union wasn't an option as my seniority level would have given me no work anywhere, whle I would have the" priviledge" of paying dues is what started it off.
That's the worst side of unionism, I'm afraid. All unions aren't equal
either, and many perhaps still operate in gangster ways (which was the
way many of them became in the "old days" Yes, gangsters DID take
control of them). I can only speak of my union experience as being a
positive thing. Most of the people working in Hollywood today aspire to
getting "in the Union" if they haven't and feel it's a good thing for
their futures.
3- My father who was only trying to keep a roof over our heads while my mom was ill may years ago was called a SCAB by his fellow union workers. This was spray painted on the sidewalk in front of our house.
So my overall opinions about unions are very, very low.
Understandable. As I said before, all unions are not created equal in
terms of goals and fairness. They are only as good as their alert and
voting memberships.
Rod Stephens
Bob Hodge
savecal@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 4/15/2006 5:37 PM >>>
Bob Wasserman wrote:
I was wondering how many of us are in Unions? I'm an IATSE member, but most of my studio work is not through them, most of it being non-profit agency work at below union scale, which is usually OK due the joy of preservation aspect of the work. I do get theatrical and event work through IATSE and then I'm very well taken care of. If I had a more fulltime staff position here, it would probably be through ACSFME. Is it our love for the work or the small size of the business that keeps us from unions?
When I first went to work for Family Theater to edit four productions,
it was under the IATSE through a payroll service, but later when I
started to do archive work for them it was on their payroll which wasn't
covered by the union. Then, it was continuous yearly employment
contrasted to the seasonal aspect of studio work, so at that point, it
was also a better deal to work non-union. Also, I had "semi retired",
so my IA pension had kicked in. In my case, I couldn't/can't complain.
But, if I were to work in "The Industry" again, I'd work union if
possible, since I'd be able to contribute to the funds for future
workers plus have the protection of union rules and make the going rate.
Rod Stephens
I was never in a union however the decline of recording engineers being in unions led to a >50% drop in our average wages. If you calculate inflation in, that figure becomes a drop >of 90%! I don't buy that the union engineers of the 1950s and '60s were overpaid and
the quality of their work certainly speaks for its self.