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Working as local in multiple cities


John atkinson

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Recently had the experience of having a deal for a job in NY I've done many times, only to receive a call stating an operator from the west coast was willing to work as a local for the job. No airfare, travel time, hotel, per diem, or transportation.

 

I was offered to match the deal or be released. I'm union based in southeast. I have not encountered this before and was wondering why anyone would want to do that. Also, wondering union implications.

 

I was director's request, as he is a friend. Thoughts?

 

JA

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John,

 

Just as Aaron stated... if its a union job, that operator is waaay out of line in doing so. Call it in. If NY is your selected "Production City," you have the right to work there as a local.

 

IF its a union job and the operator is also union, the operator could face fines. Fines that I don't think are nearly as heavy as they should be to stop this type of shenanigans.

 

I think Aaron meant to say also "If it was non union. Then there NO are rules." - This is true, but call it in anyway, many times these companies have signatory companies also and they are just trying to avoid P&A payments.

 

 

-Alfeo

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What Alfeo mentioned at the end there is exactly why the reality show I'm on now is Union. Some shows have a lot of different producing companies, if even one of them has a standing agreement with the IA, then everything they are attached to may have to be IA,

now...if the production gets finished and no one called it in or connected the dots, then.....it's water under the bridge.

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What Aaron, Alfeo and Osvaldo are saying is true. If the job is Union and the operator is traveling on his/her own dime out of their Production City, then they are violating union constitution and bylaws regarding residency. This might sound trite to those unfamiliar with these rules but they are there to protect all film workers Union and Non.

 

The idea is to keep people near to their homes as much as possible working within their own regions and designated Production city, and not to make this an industry of carpet baggers, traveling from one set to another, never having a place to call home, and seeing who can do the job for cheaper by traveling in their old Ford and sleeping on someones couch. If you travel from your home to a distant location, it should be the producer's responsibility to travel you there, put you up and feed you. They are getting those perks, why shouldn't you?

 

That operator who is traveling to NY is an idiot or very desperate, and the producer isn't a person I'd want to work with again. The next time you did the job, they would find another way to cut your rate or rental. They want you to enter into the race to the bottom.

 

We work really hard, spend lots of our own money on investing in gear, agreeing to work in often tough conditions and at all times of day and night. The least that that producer could do is honor the technician that is doing his or her best to deliver a product by not trying to pit one operator against another for a couple of bucks.

 

John if it's a Union show, please contact the local. They won't get you involved, they will inform the production company that what they are doing is a violation, and they will bring the other operator up on charges. I know this because I am an Executive Board member (as are Alfeo and Aaron), and a member of the Local 600 Trial Board Committee.. In short, charges are levied, a plea is entered by the accused, a trial date is set, the member is brought before a trial board and a determination is made regarding guilt or innocence. If guilty, a member can be fined a substantial amount of money, reflecting the severity of the penalty and the total amount of money that the guilty party made.

 

We all need to stick together to make sure that we protect our wages and conditions. It's that simple.

 

Sorry for going on so long, but this is important for us all. Union and non-union alike.

 

Jamie

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That happens a lot here in New Orleans... Even on union shows, because of the whole production city business. You can change your local to New Orleans have your mail from the union go to a P.O. box here and then still live and work in L.A. and take jobs here in New Orleans as a local because you have your production city listed as L.A. Which is totally unfair...

 

Yes I know that I could do the same but the fact of the matter is thats not true. It would be VERY hard for me (not having the L.A. contacts) to go work on a job there. Its ALOT easier for someone to get hired on the job in L.A. (where the job comes from) and then move here and take what could have been a job that I could have gotten...

 

This operator my have have his production city listed as NY but live in L.A. which makes totally legal. I and plenty of other operators that live here have dealt with this. The union ok's it and the fact is that the members (before I ever got in) voted on it and thought it was a good idea.

 

If you really want to change it call your union rep and tell them to get rid of the production city policy.

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This operator my have have his production city listed as NY but live in L.A. which makes totally legal. I and plenty of other operators that live here have dealt with this. The union ok's it and the fact is that the members (before I ever got in) voted on it and thought it was a good idea.

 

If you really want to change it call your union rep and tell them to get rid of the production city policy.

 

Aren't NYC and LA the two exceptions to the production city rules? If you live in either, you can't list a production city. They ARE your production city.

 

I wouldn't necessarily want to see the production city policy go away completely. I think it's fair for people who don't want to live in one of only two cities in the country to be able to still work there, considering there will be relatively little to no work where they do live.

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Im not sure about that part of the rule but if your address in say for example in Burbank. You are within the milage limit for working as a local. Your address is not L.A. so there for you could list NY as a production city.

 

Im not sure of all of the rule But that might be possible.

 

Some people here list their address in Laplace or Gonzales (small cities near New Orleans) then they are able to work as locals in Baton Rouge and New Orleans (2 big production cities in Louisiana). Since those cities are in the middle of the 2 they are within the milage where if they listed 1 or the other they would be out of range. All while still flying home to L.A. where they live and still work.

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Im not sure about that part of the rule but if your address in say for example in Burbank. You are within the milage limit for working as a local. Your address is not L.A. so there for you could list NY as a production city.

 

If you live in Burbank, you can work in LA and within 60 miles of Burbank. Not New York. I live in Connecticut. I can work in NYC and 60 miles from my house. Not LA. Not Louisiana.

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Its an East Coast west Coast rule. You can live in any of the other cities around US and work in either NY or LA, But if you live on the West Coast, Southern California and claim LA or the West Coast as home then you can not work in NY as a Local and vis versa,

 

Thats how I was told it is, but I haven't read the specifics in our all important bylaws .

 

It should be addressed by our local

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It is not ok to have a P.O. box anywhere so as to claim local residence and then live somewhere else. You must have your primary permanent residence there. This is part of the Union bylaws. Call your regional rep and they will be happy to explain it. I have had to call the union rep about this before because we do get a lot of it in Louisiana (and so do other distant production cities). Steve, call our central region rep and they will be happy to do their job and investigate and if true, those individuals will have to face the penalties. It is grounds for expulsion for all the reasons listed above. When I joined the union many years ago, I was given the option of choosing a 2nd local city, either Los Angeles or New York. I chose Los Angeles and it has been my 2nd local ever since. I can work there as a local but not anywhere else and certainly not New York. No matter what anyone might try to tell you, it is wrong and it hurts everyone and our union strength at the negotiating table in the long run. Report any and all instances of this violation. There are plenty of union members who have listed themselves on other sites including www.steadicam-ops.com as being able to work in multiple cities as a local. Be warned that doing this is a violation if you are a union member. Those of us who stand by and abide by our union rules must also call out those who do not. Steve, call them in.

 

Grayson Grant Austin, SOC

Local 600 Central Region

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