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Have a little complaint


Audio Engineer

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So I have received my certificates from the Aerial Lift testing and the OSHA online courseI. I have called Local 52 about 3 maybe 4 times and had emailed them a dozen times about where can I get an application. They kept telling me the same thing, "we are not giving out applications yet, check the website periodically." I honestly feel like they just wanted the money. Am I the only one going through this? How could this be? How could a union Not give out applications right after certificates are received? This has be very stressed out. I need a job. I cannot continue to freelance for very little money or even for no money because let's face it musicians are the worst. They do not want to pay anyone. Why pay someone when they can spend $500 for a small setup in their homes and they can record their music for free. Am trying very hard to work in TV or even film doing audio post production. How do people get in unions? Oh thats right they mainly go by nepotism or someone gets paid under the table. When people like me whom are trying to do things the right why we are just stuck at the bottom of the well and every time we try to climb out we lose our grip and fall back down. Why is it that on every application not just for unions we have to put down what race we are? This is just sickening. So basically depending on what race you are you have a better chance than the other races. This is completely out of control. 

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So I have received my certificates from the Aerial Lift testing and the OSHA online courseI. I have called Local 52 about 3 maybe 4 times and had emailed them a dozen times about where can I get an application. They kept telling me the same thing, "we are not giving out applications yet, check the website periodically." I honestly feel like they just wanted the money. Am I the only one going through this? How could this be? How could a union Not give out applications right after certificates are received? This has be very stressed out. I need a job. I cannot continue to freelance for very little money or even for no money because let's face it musicians are the worst. They do not want to pay anyone. Why pay someone when they can spend $500 for a small setup in their homes and they can record their music for free. Am trying very hard to work in TV or even film doing audio post production. How do people get in unions? Oh thats right they mainly go by nepotism or someone gets paid under the table. When people like me whom are trying to do things the right why we are just stuck at the bottom of the well and every time we try to climb out we lose our grip and fall back down. Why is it that on every application not just for unions we have to put down what race we are? This is just sickening. So basically depending on what race you are you have a better chance than the other races. This is completely out of control. 

A first step on the ladder of success is to learn to use paragraphs.

Step two is to remove the chip from one's shoulder.

Reversing the order of these steps also works.

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Let me see if I have this right according to your post; you think you are qualified to be in the union because you have a certification for aerial lifts? 

 

Just because you're in the union doesn't mean you're going to work. You need to network like crazy and make connections. You need to show others that you can show up on time, be pleasant, reliable, and know the craft. Those that can do that end up working a lot and then an opportunity to become part of the union will present itself. 

 

I know you're frustrated right now but you need to take a deep breath and rethink your approach to your goal.

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In my (smallish) union local nepotism did used to work pretty well, I was baldly informed of this by a senior gaffer in the local many years before I became a member, in the course of telling me that thus I would never become a member of "his" union.  Note that I DID become a member of "his" union anyway--times change.  That doesn't mean it is easy--there is a process to work through, but it CAN be worked through if you take a personal and personable approach.  By this I mean that you need to get to know the people who are doing the work you want to do, and work through them to accomplish your goal.  Don't get hung up on a paper application.  What you want to happen is that by the time they are ready to bring you in--they've decided you are qualified and a good addition to their community, that application is just a formality.

p

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Local 52 is notorious for being one of the most difficult locals to get into. IIRC, though, there was or still is an application freeze as they have been dealing with a discrimination lawsuit, preventing anyone looking to join from joining.

If you're looking to join, please note, that there are many more requirements besides the aerial lift and OSHA certifications. You also need to prove local residency of at least 18 months, and more importantly, log 800 hours in the specific role you're trying to join in as (ie Boom Operator, or Sound Mixer), which needs to be done via pay stubs from any of the the many payroll services. This last point is key, and where many fail to meet the requirements for application.

Lastly, once application has been accepted, you'll need to pass a test, and be voted in. As such, you should go meet and friend other folks who are in 52, and hopefully they can vouch for you when the voting meeting happens.

It should be stated as well, what I think is the biggest flaw in your post, that joining the union does NOT guarantee work. As mentioned by others here, you need to find the work yourself. Only thing joining IA does is that it allows you to work on union sets.

Good luck.

 

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I'm a relatively new Union member and here is my perspective, having been so recently on the other side of the fence.

When you are new, you struggle to get work, it seems like you don't have the experience and credits to get the "big jobs" and apparently the solution is to get into the union so you can get those jobs.  The entertainment unions however are much different than the traditional labor unions.  When I lived in NYC, my two roommates at one point were both union members, one worked on elevators and the other was in the steelworkers union.  The guy who worked in elevators was always busy because nearly every friggin building in NYC had an elevator and most of them broke at some point in time.  The guy in the steel union sat on the couch a lot.  When he was busy, life was great, but that line of work ebbed and flowed drastically with the construction activity in the city (I imagine it is good now, but not back then).  For awhile there was drinking, sometimes drugs, and when he had enough of sitting on the couch, he eventually had to go home so we threw him a party with more drinking, drugs, and strippers, I think it was the strippers that tipped us over the top as he was enjoying staying with us so much he reversed his decision to leave, so we made sure to never invite strippers over to our place again, anyways our stripper pole had broke and put a hole in the ceiling, but I digress... where was I?  Ah yes, entertainment unions - they are different than traditional blue collar labor unions.  Entertainment unions are NOT hiring halls.  Entertainment unions are entities for creating a bargaining collective to negotiate contracts with producers and a vessel for collecting health and welfare contributions for things like 401K and medical benefits.  Once you join, they will not call you and say "hey can you show up 36th street this Friday with your boom mic?"

You first must establish yourself as a professional in your craft.  The first step is to simply demonstrate that you have been paid an x number of days in your craft, and that is handled by the CSATF and then to take the necessary safety courses pertaining to your craft.  Next you must obviously talk to your prospective union, but really, establishing yourself as a qualified professional for that union will work itself out once you start actually working in that trade, get approved by CSATF, etc.  Your looking at getting into the union as the solution to getting work, which is backwards.  Union membership is just a logical evolution for a working professional, and not the ONLY professional route to take.

Personally, my union membership was completely voluntary and "unnecessary".  Quite frankly, I do an adequate job bargaining my own rates and mostly work on non-union projects.  However, even when working non-union shows, I acknowledge that the sweat and tears put in by he union membership as a whole and the leadership has indirectly affected and enabled me to set rate expectations and labor conditions on my jobs, something that I could not have as successfully done without the precedent set by their contracts.  I joined the union because the types of projects that I want to work on in the future is rightfully so, done under union contract (narrative feature films).  I pay my bills with whatever comes my way but artistic satisfaction drove me towards union membership to strive for something better.  If you want job security, get into IT, medical field, or auto mechanics.  If you want to be one of the very few people who mix sound for picture, figure it out yourself.  I'm not saying that to be mean spirited or protective of my job, everyone knows that I love to freely share information, it's just the course that each of us took is so varied, that it is not an obvious 1, 2, 3 step to get where we got today, (if it's really only 3 steps, I'm still between my first and second step).

The reason why it's tough to get a job is because there are very few jobs and a lot of qualified people doing it. Sure there's nepitism, like how is it the daughter of a very famous director is able to direct high budget feature films as a junior director?  You know what, good for them, but that's not who we are as sound mixers, we are not privileged, we didn't pay anyone under the table, if we do "know someone" it's because of the years of hard work that was put in and got us noticed, and even if there was "that guy" forget it, and just worry about what you can do.  Success in this industry is going to be based on accountability (sort of the definition of our job with respect to sound), ability to put a human face to a technical process, and to be dependable.

I write such a lengthy response because I'm much more like you than different and I hope to see you succeed, rather than fail, but let's just nip the sense of entitlement and disparaging others in the bud right now, that's not going to help you.

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do they really ask for your "race" on applications ? That doesn't sound legal.

Believe it or not, just about every application for anything I've filled out; jobs, apartment rental apps, college, car loans...any and all applications..they all asked race. Nowadays I don't even fill that part in. 

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http://nycppnews.com/iatse-local-52-settles-new-york-state-equal-job-opportunity/

Agreement Offers A Level Playing Field For African-Americans, Latinos, And Other Minorities

Schneiderman: New Yorkers Must Have Equal Employment Regardless Of Race Or National Origin

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a settlement with the International Alliance of Theatrical & Stage Employees, Local 52, concerning the Local’s admissions process and the exclusion of African-Americans and Latinos from the union. Local 52 agreed to an overhaul of its admissions process to ensure equal opportunity for membership without regard to race, ethnicity, or national origin. In addition to injunctive relief, the Local also agreed to pay $475,000 in monetary relief.

“My office is committed to ensuring equal access to employment opportunities in New York State,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “For decades, the film and television production industry has been a cornerstone of the New York economy, an international symbol of our state, and a source of good-paying jobs. I applaud Local 52 for taking steps that will make more of those jobs available to all workers regardless of their race, ethnicity, or national origin.”

Local 52 is one of the labor organizations representing employees in the film and television production industry. Headquartered in New York City, the Local’s active membership totals over 3,500 employees who perform a variety of essential jobs – for instance, electrical, grip, property, sound, and video – on film and television shoots in New York and four other states.

Beginning in 2012, the Attorney General received complaints from experienced African-American and Latino applicants who were denied admission to Local 52 – many of them repeatedly – about irregularities in the union’s admissions process. The investigation revealed that the Local followed a policy of nepotism in admissions and inconsistently applied its application procedures – such as prior work experience and examination requirements – to the benefit of family and friends of mostly white existing members. These policies had a discriminatory effect upon minority applicants and caused significant disparities between the number of African-American and Latino members in the Local and the number of minorities in the available labor pool in New York.

Under the terms of the agreement, Local 52 will:

  • restructure its admissions process;
  • adopt equal employment opportunity/anti-harassment policies;
  • hire a diversity consultant to assist in the creation of a recruitment plan to increase the number of minorities in its applicant pool;
  • establish partnerships with educational and community organizations aimed at identifying and preparing African-Americans and Latinos for the industry and for membership in the union;
  • hire a full-time human resources director to manage the new admissions and recruiting processes;
  • develop EEO/anti-harassment trainings for all union leadership and new members as they join the Local;
  • establish new recordkeeping requirements; and
  • pay $475,000 in costs, fees, and restitution for complainants who participated in the OAG’s investigation and were denied admission to the union.

“We are pleased to have assisted the Attorney General’s Office in casting a spotlight on certain arbitrary and illegal barriers to local union membership for Latinos and minorities in New York’s lucrative film and cable industry” said Jackson Chin, Senior Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF.

“We are likewise pleased that the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau has looked into the concerns we raised, and has taken action to implement measures that will lead to fair access to union membership and equal employment opportunities.”

Howard Sherman, Interim Executive Director of The Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts,said, “For decades, our organization and other advocates have been working tirelessly to diversify the film and television industry, both in front of and behind the camera. I applaud Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for working to make this highly visible industry reflect the true composition of America today.”

 

 

 
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I have membership, respectable resume, professional relationships, production relationships, experience, engineering background, agreeable attitude, flexible rates, complete equipment package, friends, union safety certification, reliable transportation and optimism.  This craft/career is as difficult now as it was 30 years ago .

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Wow, great advice from Tom Visser above. I was in 695 a couple of times in LA when they had jurisdiction over videotape people, and I can verify all his comments. I see both good and bad with unions, but in today's business environment, I don't think employees have any other alternative than to have union representation, especially on long projects. The sad reality is that the employers are not your friends, and they'll chisel away at hourly rates, benefits, conditions, turnaround time, seniority, and a lot of other issues, whenever they can. Unions at least establish minimum rates and terms for all these things.

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Mr. Visser...bravo. Thank you. It needs to be pinned, posted, pointed to, easily found, etc.

Also FewMore, that 'human' is a keeper.

I did not know that Local 52 required 800 hours...hmmm.

As a Local 52 (outlier) member I'm happy to give you my take on it via telephone (914) 509-4661 or currently running Sounderday videoconference https://zoom.us/j/817979726 We meet every Saturday and Sunday morning for an hour or two (or more if something big's going on) starting 9A Eastern.

Bunch of mixers from around the world at all levels of experience discuss all things sound mixer related and can give you insight.

Thanks for posting that piece, Greg. Explains the situation well. The OP's complaints about color / family lines are being addressed at the members' short-term expense since it's really hard to get good staffing under busy days. Hopefully the lesson is well learned and in the long run benefits us all.

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