History Of The Editors Guild by Chris Cooke & Jeff Burman 1937 The Society of Motion Picture Film Editors was formed by I. James Wilkinson, Ben Lewis and Philip Cahn on May 20, 1937. Membership totaled 571 men and women. Picture editors earned $100 each week, sound editors and librarians earned $60 a week. The first officers of the Society were Edward Hannan as President, Fred Richards as Vice President and Edward Dmytryk as Secretary. 1938 In the Society's first contract talks, a ten percent wage increase was won. Sound editors and music editors were made separate and distinct craft categories, each drawing $70 a week. 1940 John Lehners was hired as our Business Agent, a position he held for thirty years, excluding his service in the Armed Forces. 1941 Society members served in many branches of the military, including film units in the Office of War Information in Washington, D.C., Astoria Studios on Long Island, and here in Hollywood at Fort Roach, also known as Hal Roach Studios. Warren Low was first in command. 1943 Editors were offered their own local by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes (IATSE). Many Society members sought to align themselves with this larger national organization, hoping for greater negotiating clout.The Directors Guild (DGA) also made overtures. The DGA offered to admit only picture editors, and offered only diluted voting rights. 1944 A General Membership Meeting was called for July 17, 1944 to discuss and vote on affiliation with the IATSE. Affiliation was approved and a new charter was awarded by IATSE President Richard Walsh on August 15, 1944. The Society of Motion Picture Film Editors became the Motion Picture Editors Guild, Local 776 of the IATSE. 1947 The "closed shop" was outlawed with the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, as were secondary boycotts. All Union officials were required to take anti-communist loyalty oaths. Television was developing rapidly. 1949 Salaries were on the rise. On-call editors were drawing $305.72 each week. In just twelve years, with the growth of television work, our membership had nearly doubled. 1951 The American Cinema Editors (ACE) was formed by Warren Low and Jack Ogilvie. Their hope was to elevate and acknowledge the creative contributions of film editors. 1952 The "Plan," the Motion Picture Health and Welfare Plan, began operating. It had a minimum threshold of 165 required hours in the first six months of the year to qualify for health coverage. 1953 The Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) was formed by Raymond Bomba. Like its counterpart on the picture side, it strived to give recognition to the craft of sound editing. The Pension Plan began to collect funds from the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), and soon after, also began collecting funds from members of the IATSE. 1955 The site of our current offices at 7715 Sunset Boulevard was purchased. Camera local 659 joined us as a half partner. 1960 Retirement Benefits were first paid out, at a rate of $90 a month. The International began a successful campaign to negotiate for residual payments for films shown on television. These funds were soon paid into our pension plan. 1970 Membership grew to 1,696 active members. 1975 The IATSE went head-to-head with the National Association of Broadcasting and Engineering Technicians (NABET) in a successful campaign to organize videotape editors. Over 200 new members joined the Guild. A stormy strike vote at the Hollywood Palladium led to Universal and Paramount breaking rank with the AMPTP, which in turn led to our largest single pay increase, greater than 50% over the next three and a half years. 1979 At a General Membership Meeting, the Guild's 8-year rule, which required members to serve for eight years before becoming an editor, was lowered to five years. The Individual Account Plan (IAP) went into effect. The IAP is a defined contribution plan that supplements the Pension Plan. Each member has a personal account and is allocated funds annually from both employer contributions and from investment income. 1980 Bea Dennis was elected the first woman president of the Guild. 1981 The San Francisco area was organized and brought into the Guild. Publication of the Newsletter began, and the first Retiree's Luncheon was held. 1984 Ron Kutak, our current Executive Director, began serving the Guild. 1989 Roster restrictions requiring a minimum number of years of service before a member can become an editor were swept away. The overriding reason was to strengthen our efforts to organize non-union shows. 1992 Donn Cambern, our current President, began serving the Guild. 1995 The Board of Directors is reapportioned to more accurately reflect the numbers of individual members in different classifications. The IATSE changed its name to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States and Canada. 1996 Jurisdiction of Digital Audio Workstations is awarded to the Editors Guild, says IA President Tom Short. 1997 The Guild's web site, launched and managed by Administrative Director Lisa Dosch and Editors Steve Cohen and Jay Scherberth, makes its debut. 1998 Post Production members of IATSE Local 695 are transferred to the Editors Guild. The group consists of Re-Recording Mixers, Maintenance Engineers, Recordists and Studio Projectionists. As they enter the guild on New Years's Day, 1998, they number 1,073. 1999 Lorraine Seidel our current Eastern Region Assistant Executive Director, begins serving the Guild from our New York office at 165 West 46th Street, in Times Square. 2000 Local 52 ceded their Re-recording jurisdiction to Local 700.   Reprinted from Motion Picture Editors Guild Directory of Members 2000   Guild Home | Directory Home | Magazine Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 2000, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700