2ND QUARTER LOCATION MEETING RECAP:

Jamie and Arturo from FilmLA: With Dodger Stadium in full swing if you are considering filming in Echo Park area, please check the Dodger Schedule and project planning at FilmLA before you make any final decisions. There is a Fam Trip (flyer below) planned for the Adams Area on May 19th. RSVP to Jamie at JBurton-Oare@FilmLA.com if interested. 

 

  • The question of enforcing the 72 hour window for permitting and the difficulty of companies meeting those deadlines came up which is really based on the permitting authority for the City, Contract Services LAPD, staff being reduced, and not having the staff to handle the volume of permit requests. That reduction came about because the LAPD felt they needed to put more officers out on the streets. What the City has asked us to do is give them specific reasons why this is causing a burden on us to bring the staff back. I asked for emails and stories I can take back to the City to push back here. If they don’t hear from us the argument becomes moot.

 

  • Steve talked about the Teamsters D.R.I.V.E. Program – which stands for Democrat Republican Independent Voter Education. Jon Cuite from the IBT was in attendance to collect contributions for D.R.I.V.E. and talk about the current threats against working people and families everywhere such as: right-to-work, the Janus case in the Supreme Court which will be rendered in June and will devastate all the public sector unions with Private Sector next, and the Grow Act which is pension reform act in Congress which will potentially affect our pensions at some point. If you want more info about the Grow Act or to sign a online petition opposing it, click here.

 

  • Steve talked about a ‘Big Little Lies‘ grievance that concerned the first year being considered a short form mini series but with a second year ordered that first year should have had episodic series rates and HBO was “persuaded” to agree. We will have more on this in our July Newsreel. 

 

  • Because IATSE negotiations have not been completed with AMPTP we have given up our Driver negotiation dates in June and pushed them to early July and Location negotiation dates will follow with dates later in July. Stay tuned for more updates soon.

 

 

  • I reported on my discussions with the Location Steering committee on proposals for the upcoming negotiations and we will be sending out a survey in May to all Members working in Locations for your feedback. If you have any suggestions, please email me at eduffy@ht399.org. 

 

  • I discussed the Loan Out language in our Collective Bargaining Agreement and the reluctance on the part of the studios to allow us to use it. We will be bringing this up during negotiations. I also discussed the idea of paying car allowance on a separate check and whether that would be a tax advantage with the changes in the tax code in 2018. According to the CPA’s I’ve talked to, it would not make a difference or be wise but still a work in progress as we move towards negotiations. I again brought up that there are 3 classifications in our agreement. There is no such thing as a non-union Location PA or non-union office coordinator. Though productions working in other states might allow for that it will not be tolerated under our 399 agreement.

 

  • I also talked about our bills in Sacramento to extend and improve our film tax credits beyond 2020. Because the studios and companies need certainty more then 2 years ahead in order to plan for TV and features we must extend our credit now. AB1734 authored by Assembly member Ian Calderon was heard in the Arts And Entertainment Committee on April 17th. Location Manager Alison Taylor travelled with us to Sacramento and testified on our behalf. That bill passed through that committee 7 to 1. The next day SB951 authored by Senator Holly Mitchell was heard in the Governance and Finance Committee and though there was some push back concerning our business and “Harvey Weinstein” type issues it passed 6 to 1 and one abstention. Steve reminded everyone that Local 399 as well the other Unions (IATSE, DGA,SAG/AFTRA,Laborers etc) are part of the Entertainment Union Coalition formed to work together to move these bills through to the Governors desk for our jobs. I reported that filing in LA was up 12% this first quarter thanks to more feature and commercial activity. Though reality TV was off 24%. Only the first quarter of the year. The film tax credits have brought “Sneaky Pete” back from NY for this next season, and there are also 13 series relocating back to California due to the State film tax credits. The latest feature allotment announced awarded tax credits to 9 feature including the sequel to “Coming To America”, “Ford vs Ferrari“, “Scarface” remake, a movie based on the series “Deadwood“, and a Jordan Peele movie.

 

  • We had a very long discussion about signature surveys and services. Neighborhood councils and residents not getting the correct info on what is actually happening when surveyed. (This is a much longer conversation and I will send a separate email about this on a later date)

 

  • I talked about changes happening on Spring and Main that I have mentioned in the past. Though when filming there we will be parking and dealing with it in much the same manner after many conversations and meetings with the City and DOT. The Spring bike lane will be moving to the east side of the street (no color any longer) in the curb lane. A parking lane will be next to it away from the curb. When we work there the bike lane and parking lane can be closed and the plans will be on file with DOT to do so. Then there will be 2 driving lanes and another parking lane on the west side of the street. This all part of the zero mobility plan to combat street fatalities and accidents within the City. There is tremendous push back all over the City on this as most are aware so we shall see where it goes.

 

Lastly we discussed:

  • We talked about the issues of harassment and awareness. We are part of the Times Up Movement and Steve sits on its board as we figure out and progress.
  • We talked about the LMGI Awards event
  • Miranda Carnessale talked about the Meet the Manager event on May 20th (See Flyer on Right)     
  • We talked about the Map making workshop on May 19th (more will be sent as it grows closer)
  • We talked about retirement seminars that the Motion Picture Plans conduct, and everyone should be attending to think ahead at whatever age.
  • We had sign-ups for SOFA (Society Of Financial Awareness) meeting which can help members plan ahead for retirement free of charge. Click here to RSVP if interested – space is extremely limited.

Forgive me if I left something out. Hopefully more of you can attend and get involved at our future meetings.

Thanks for the support,

 

Ed Duffy 

Vice President 

Teamsters Local 399