Category

President’s Message

WGA Strike

Aloha kakou,

 

As I’m sure you’re all aware, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went out on strike as of 12:01 am ET Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023 (6:01 pm HST Monday, 05/01/23). Anyone working under the ASA is expressly granted the right to honor any lawful picket line. If there is no picket line at your work site, you may report to work as you normally do. At the time of writing, there are no picket lines scheduled for entertainment industry work sites in Hawai’i that I am aware of. An updated WGA picket schedule can be found here (or copy and paste this link in your browser: wgacontract2023.org/strike/picket-schedules-and-locations)

 

We will be closely monitoring the situation on our end, but you’re our boots on the ground. If you report to work and find that a picket line has been established, please contact me or the Hall as soon as possible with the address, employer, and specific entrance of the facility/worksite (it’s weird, I know, but it matters) so that we can confirm its legitimacy and spread the word. Should you encounter a picket line on one of our worksites, I encourage you to honor it by not crossing. It’s the same support that we would ask of other entertainment unions if we were in their position. I’m coordinating with Teamsters 996 and SAG-AFTRA to share information among Hawai’i entertainment unions regarding the WGA strike. As updates are received on our end, we’ll get them to you as soon as possible.

 

Additionally, should you encounter a lawful picket line at work, it is very important that you contact your supervisor and inform them that you’ll be exercising your contractual right to honor a picket line. In addition to a phone call, email your supervisor with the subject line “_____ Strike at our worksite” and Cc documents@iatse665.org. This way, there will be documentation that you alerted your supervisor. If you do not do these things, it could be considered a no call/no show, which could result in termination.

In Solidarity,

 

Tuia’ana Scanlan

President, IATSE Local 665

he/him/his

President’s Report – January 2021

Organizing and Political Activism – 

Several meetings with fellow labor coalitions have occurred over the course of this last month. The Hawaii Labor Coalition continues to meet regularly to advance the goals of the labor movement and labor-friendly legislation. As the Legislative session has convened, we have been meeting more frequently.

This Legislature is only accepting testimony electronically. The rules for testimony vary slightly between the State House Committees and the State Senate Committees. Legislative Calendars, State Committee assignments, Remote Testimony Procedures, and other pertinent information is available on our website under the “Documents” tab. Make sure to register an account at capitol.hawaii.gov as it’s necessary to submit testimony for any bill. No in-person testimony will be permitted at the State Capitol or County Councils.

Training and Development –

I’ve continued to take leadership classes including Foundations of Union Leadership and the “Mental Health Issues and the Union” Webinar. Further info on training will be shared during the Training Committee’s report

Outreach –

DEI Committee – A report has been submitted for the 2021 mid-winter General Executive Board meeting, which will be held electronically next week Tuesday and Wednesday, January 26th and 27th from 6:00am – 12:00pm HST each day. The work of the committee continues. The next meeting of the DEI committee is today – Executive Committee at 12pm HST and full committee meeting at 2pm

Contract Negotiation – 

Lastly, in an effort to put our unique skills sets to good use for the public good in a mutually beneficial endeavor, we’ll be reaching out to politicians, live event venues, and promoters.
Based on the executive orders that President Joe Biden has signed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Int’l President Loeb has advised IATSE Stagecraft locals to coordinate with employers to lobby their State and Local Governments to turn IATSE venues into COVID Vaccination sites/field hospitals.

 

President’s Report – December 2020

Organizing activities and Political activism – 

 

Hawaii Labor Coalition – Virtual meetings regarding legislative priorities spanning across the labor movement from County to Federal level

 

Political Action Committee – 

 

Set Teacher’s Bill – 

 

Prompt Payment Statutes – 

 

Training and Professional development – 

 

COVID-19 Prevention Training – I’ve received a number of questions regarding access to the required training. I know that many of you are looking to be compliant, but have experienced trouble connecting to the CSATF portal. It’s important to note that “TTF Safety First! Online Courses” does NOT contain the correct course. Check your inbox for an email sent by BA Barber on 10/21/2020 entitled “REQUIRED NEW IATSE COVID-19 TTF Course”. Follow the instructions and you should receive your PIN soon. Make sure to register your account as you receive it. If you’ve already done that, but have yet to receive your PIN, go to iatsetrainingtrust.org/c19 and click “Contact Us”. Or reach out directly by sending an email to safety@iatsetrainingtrust.org.

That being said, check out “TTF Safety First!”. It’s got a bunch of useful information that help to promote safety at the work site.

Mental Health in the time of COVID-19 – an 8hour class that was held 5am-1pm HST on Friday, December 4th from “Lankey and Limey LLC” – 

Outreach – 

Academy of Creative Media at UH West Oahu – HFEB members were invited to tour the facility as it develops. It’s a fun, tech-centric space that lends itself to emerging media like E-Sports. I don’t think they’ve allocated enough space for pre-production (i.e. mill, wardrobe, G&E, etc) but it looks like somewhere that we could train the next generation of stagehands.

DEI Committee – We’ve met more often this month than ever before. A lot of energy has been focused on organizing internally and strategizing how our work can be implemented for the betterment of the spectrum from individual members to the industry at large. This includes, but is not limited to: gender inclusive policy and procedural language, training and development, recognition and promotion of BIPOC/underrepresented communities in ad campaigns. We will be submitting a report for the 2021 mid-winter General Executive Board meeting.