First and foremost, a heartfelt mahalo to all of the well-wishers and good vibes from those that have reached out. On the evening of Wednesday, May 17th, my family welcomed our new baby, Len Scanlan, into the world. Jackie has recovered well and Sonia is the best big sister that I could hope for. I took the following 7 business days off for personal leave. On Monday, June 29th, I hopped back in the saddle. Certainly not enough time to truly support my wife through her recovery, but we made it work. Rather than break this report up into the various sections, it will be read as a timeline, as the Venn diagram of the items reported overlap.
June 1st – Sector Strategies and Career Pathways Committee Meeting presentation at DLIR –
I first met Cary Miyashiro at L665’s career pathways booth for the Hawai’i AFL-CIO’s Labor of Love event at Dole Middle School. Cary is in his second year of a four year term on the state Workforce Development Council. He was intrigued by our industry and, much like many of the civilians looking in from the outside, had little knowledge of what it is that our union actually does. Consistent with a number of state entities, they only hear about us during the legislative session when we provide testimony in support of the film tax incentive. We spoke about live events, career pathways, and how to involve the community in our industry. As a result of this conversation, I was invited to the Sector Strategies and Career Pathways Committee meeting on June 1st at the DLIR offices. Various public sector unions presented the work that they’ve accomplished through programs catered to underserved communities. Many expressed a need to find accessible career pathways for their respective groups. I shared briefly about the scope of our work and available training opportunities. Doors have opened as a result. We were invited to visit the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii’s NFL YET Center in Nanakuli (more on that in a bit). I will be reaching out to ‘Olelo next week to discuss how we can be of service to one another. Among the attendees were State Sen. Bennette Misalucha. I was officially appointed in the interim by Gov. Green to the state’s WDC on June 18th.
June 6th-11th – Airport pickups, District 2 Convention – Invocation, Mayor Blangiardi, Resolutions Committee 2 Chair, HIFA at Reception
On June 6th, Shawn Christensen, Irish Barber and I had an informal meeting with D2 Secretary-Treasurer Anthony Pawluc and Encore reps. Prior to the birth of my son, we were told that Anthony and Irish would have a discussion with Encore regarding technicians for the District Convention. We were under the assumption that technicians for the reception would also be discussed, but no such discussion occurred. While on family leave, I was unable to attend the follow up meeting. On June 6th, we realized that no technicians were scheduled for Saturday, June 10th. Shawn and I then moved quickly to fill the gaps. Many thanks to Lukas Seno and Kaimana Young for being so quick to respond to our call for aid. As a result, the reception was a resounding success. I picked up International VPs Mike Miller and Thom Davis from the airport on Thursday and I was informed that I was requested to give the invocation for the convention. I picked up International President Loeb from the airport on Friday when I checked in. Friday evening, I was told that I’d be sitting up on the dais with the District chairs and the International President at convention call on Saturday morning. It left little time to prepare, but based on all accounts, it was well received. I was tasked with chairing the Resolutions 2 committee. One contentious resolution went through significant debate, but was ultimately voted down. Aside from that, the convention was rather swift.
I invited two representatives from HIFA to the reception so that international representatives could become familiar with not only their faces, but their plight as well. I was called away early Sunday morning to the ER, as my son was in need of emergency medical attention. All is well now, but that’s not the call any parent wants to receive at 12:30 am.
A sincere mahalo to all of the volunteer Sergeants-at-Arms. We couldn’t have done it without you. Stay tuned for another opportunity to be a part of the process for the Quadrennial Convention in 2025.
June 13th – I was asked by the IA Pol/Leg Department director Tyler McIntosh to record a video for the Nat’l AFL-CIO rally in Philadelphia on Father’s day weekend. Each affiliate was asked to record a video of their International/National President/Director as well as a member in support of the Biden-Harris administration’s strong stance toward Labor. I was given boilerplate language to shape into my own words. Even though the video was only 90 seconds long, as anyone behind the scenes can tell you, 90 seconds of recorded run time can take a lifetime to record. I’m honored that Tyler thought of me. I’ll be working with Pol/Leg to pressure Customs and Border Patrol to re-open the HIFA Visa waiver program, as local efforts to sway them have stalled.
Friday, June 16th – I was invited by the Hawaii State AFL-CIO to play on their team at the 3rd annual Mariano-Soquena Golf tournament at Pearl Country Club. I played alongside Dion Dizon (formerly of the state fed’s COPE, and now with IBEW 1186), Lisa Marie Akau, who represents TSA workers, and 3 members of IBEW 1260. I cannot express how important these events are. It was a who’s-who of Labor leaders both in the public and private sectors. The outreach capable as a result of candid audience time with allies in Hawai’i’s organized labor movement cannot be understated.
June 21st – Dave Wallace, Willie Preston, Irish Barber, Shawn Christensen, and I did a walkthrough of the Kaneohe Bayview Golf Course, Driving Range, Mini-golf, and banquet facility to scout a family friendly member golf event to be held on Saturday, August 19th, 2023. All members and their families are welcome.
June 22nd – Outreach at NFL YET facility in Nanakuli (bc of June 1st and Labor of Love), Film Studio near ACM Pre-proposal conference, Property Walkthrough
Lukas Seno and I spent the day doing outreach on the Westside of O’ahu – a singularly underserved community. We visited the Boys and Girls Club of Hawai’i’s NFL YET (Youth Education Town) center in Nanakuli. We got an opportunity to see their media center, which, while slightly outdated, has a lot of potential to propel the youth of Nanakuli into viable careers in our industry if we can empower volunteer technicians to share their skill sets with the youth. We attended the pre-proposal conference for the ISP issued by the University of Hawaii system for a studio in West O’ahu. The timeline seems rather rushed, but I believe UH is trying to get the ball rolling prior to the beginning of the next legislative session. The conference was held on Zoom and was attended by several developers. We then went on a walkthrough of the ACM facility and a site inspection of the property. Developers had concerns regarding available workforce, but we were able to quell their concerns.
We had an opportunity to check out their “maker space” – CNC Router, Laser Cutter, and 3D printer. Joe Martinez of Local 44, is a certified armorer, Pyrotechnician (3rd class) and prop shop. With his team, Andy and Nate, they can take a concept from cocktail napkin to set-ready prop. They are currently working in the prop shop for Lilo and Stitch, have offered to run a training course on the use of CNC routers and Laser cutters for fabrication. This would be an advanced course for our more experienced prop-makers. Training on emerging technology and techniques will keep us at the forefront of the industry. Joe and his team are the first and only prop shop in existence. If we can train our members here in prop shop, it could change the face of our industry as we know it. We’d no longer have to outsource this work to the continent. That being said, it would be cost-prohibitive if we had to pay to ship their machines from LA to here. And that’s where ACM’s maker space comes into play. I’m sure everyone here can see the value in having a push-button ready facility available to us for training purposes. We hope to tour the facility with Joe and his team next Friday.
Tues June 27th – state senators have invited me to partake in discussions with WGA members in Hawaii to explore the potential impact on our industry. They have intentionally kept the group small, so I will report the results of the conversation to the board and membership when it makes sense.
Thursday, June 29th – 1st official meeting as a Governor appointed member of the Hawaii Workforce Development Council at DLIR. Several council members are slated to retire. So this is not only an inaugural meeting for the new members of the WDC, but also a farewell.
IATSE 2023 Member Census opens July 10th Guide
“The 2023 IATSE Member Census is a critical initiative to gain accurate, anonymized, aggregated, and up to date statistics regarding our membership across the United States and Canada.
The insights gained from the Member Census will be used to empower us to better advocate for our members’ rights and interests, and ensure future actions reflect the union’s membership.”
The following training courses are available and useful to all members, regardless of craft:
IA TTF Safety First! Courses can be found at:https://www.iatsetrainingtrust.org/safetyfirst
Motion Picture/TV training is also available at https://www.iatsetrainingtrust.org/asa – Safety A, A2, and Harassment Prevention, and C19 Prevention Training
If you need help accessing the online training programs offered by IATSE TTF or through LinkedIn Learning, which has thousands of courses from soft skills like how to be an effective emerging leader to hard skills like cybersecurity, is available to members at no charge. Or if you have a suggestion for training that could benefit a group of our members, please send an email to president@iatse665.org and I’ll do my best to guide you through it.
With the Writers strike in effect and a potential SAG-AFTRA strike on the horizon, I implore you to take advantage of training opportunities. If work should shut down, we will be ramping up training opportunities for members. It will strengthen our Local, our Union, and will help us get you more work.
