A Conversation with Joe Aredas
The New Head
of the West Coast IA Office
Looks Forward to a Time of Growth
Interview by Keith Lissak
On November 2, 1998, Joseph Aredas took office as the new international representative-in-charge at the West Coast headquarters of IATSE. A long-time union man, Joe has worked both sides of the labor fence and brings to his position a fresh perspective on the role and function of the IA. He recently took time out to talk about his career and vision for the future of the IA on the West Coast.
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I started my career at MGM in 1967, in the machine shop as a cinetechnician. I worked under the jurisdiction of Local 789, which is no longer in existence. It merged with other locals and is now part of Local 683, of which I am a member. I was at MGM approximately eight months, and then they had a layoff. I went to work at Consolidated Film Industry (CFI) for what was supposed to be a temporary job and wound up staying there 12 years.
What was your first position with the IA?
In June of 1980 I was selected to become the business representative for the cinetechnicians, who had by that time merged with Local 695. I stayed at that position for approximately six-and-a-half years. Though my primary responsibility was cinetechnicians, I also represented sound and video people and all of the other entities under the local. I returned to work at CFI in 1987 when they asked me to be in charge of their labor relations department.
Was it difficult for you to represent management as opposed to the workers?
Well, when they initially offered me the position I said, "No." They called again and we got down to talking about philosophies. I said, "If you want to hire me because you think I'm going to bust the union, then there's no sense in us even talking because that's just not my way of doing business." The president of the company at that time was a gentleman by the name of Tom Ellington, and what he told me was, "Listen, we want somebody who's honest and fair. If we're doing something wrong, tell us and we'll fix it. If we're doing something right, back us up." I couldn't have asked for a better deal, and that's the way the job went for the majority of the time I was there. When events occurred which were going to change the conditions under which I was employed, I made the decision to leave the company. Fortunately, the job of chief administrative officer at Contract Services came up and I took it. This was in December of 1997.
In late summer of '98 I began a series of informal conversations with President Tom Short in which we discussed the vision, the mission and the goals of the IA. The more we talked, the more it seemed like an ideal marriage for me to move into this new position. To be honest, my existence in the industry has always been because of the union. It's who I am.
What makes the union so attractive to you?
That's a very easy question to answer: It provided security, it provided representation, and it provided benefits that I probably would never have received had I not been union. The standard of living we all enjoy in this country would not be close to where it is today without the unions.
How do you see your new role?
It's an interesting position. We're not just in film production here - it's stage hands, mechanics, projectionists and others spread across the 13 western states. One of the reasons Tom Short wanted me was because he knew I was familiar with the film contracts. He understood that I have always maintained good relationships with people on both sides. My role at the IA is to administer the collective-bargaining agreements and have my staff and myself act as a resource to all of the West Coast locals.
Why the need for a resource?
Because there is a lot of organizing that still needs to be done. We're here to assist the locals in their endeavors to do union business and organizing. It's a real focal point for us right now. Even with the Editors Guild, which has a pretty good handle on the editorial community, there are a lot of new companies that have sprung up all over the place. Many of them are just boutique houses that deal with tape editing and other post services, but they are virtually unchecked. It's our aim to assist Local 700 in trying to overcome that and organize these companies and get them under contract.
Even the smallest of the boutiques?
If they're any good, they grow. Compact Video, which is now 4MC, was started in a garage by two guys. So, as much as possible, we have to make sure that work that is supposed to be covered under the collective-bargaining agreement is covered. There's a lot of work to be done in this area. And it's not only here in Los Angeles, it's on both coasts and in the middle.
One of our other aims at this point is to try to stop the demarcation lines of West Coast, East Coast, middle of the country; it's all one IA, and it stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. We're currently in the process of getting this office online with the New York office so that we're networked with each other, which makes sense. It will be like having offices on a first and second floor of a building rather than on both coasts. We're really thinking progressively in this area, because when you're doing business it's better to be one big operation than several smaller operations. It's tough for a small outfit to deal with some of the issues that come our way, but as one solid unit we are much stronger.
How will your background help you accomplish the IA's goals?
I've been fortunate that I was able to work for both the union and management pretty much under my own terms and conditions. I was never corrupted one way or the other, but have been able to maintain a sense of fairness. That's basically the way my whole life has been - I believe in treating people fairly, and being treated the same way.
The
transfer of Local 695 to 776 happened a year ago.
In retrospect, how do you feel about it?
When it initially occurred I thought it was a masterful stroke of genius by President Short. For many years there had been jurisdictional disputes between the locals, so it made sense to me to combine post production with post production and production with production. But I think the learning process is ongoing for Local 700. Many of the people from 695 are used to being active in their representation, so I'm sure 700 is going to need to meet with them to determine where these people want the local to go and how they're going to get there.
A big mistake a lot of unions make is not keeping in contact with the people. Just a quick walk-through at the studios and facilities makes the difference between night and day with the membership. The members want to know your face, know that you're somebody they can talk to. You have to be accessible. Myself, as much as I can, I'm going to spend time with the locals and the people. I'll be out there in the field. That's the best part of this job for me, because the people are the most important commodity the unions have.
What are the main issues facing the IA today?
There are a lot of them, but the main issue that all of our locals face is technology. When I first started working at CFI, there were approximately 940 employees; now that company can run just as efficiently and get out just as much product with 300 to 400 employees. That's all due to technological change. The same thing has gone on in editing. When the first tape editing systems came out, you almost had to be an engineer to run them. They've now gotten so user-friendly that my 13-year-old grandson can run one. That ease of use is one of the reasons why so many boutique companies are springing up. It also means that, within the locals, interchangeability [among classifications] is a must. The more an employee knows, the more valuable they become and the less likely they are to be phased out due to technological changes.
Something I used to do when I was a machinist's rep was go to a studio to talk to the membership and say, "Sure, a good machinist can make any part you want, but you need to know more than that. There's a whole world of servicing and maintaining the equipment, knowing what makes it tick, designing new ways of doing something. Make sure you learn that, because if you don't, when your employer runs out of parts to make, you're not going to have the skill and ability to do the new job." Some people didn't listen. Those that did were more often than not saved from unemployment.
I used the word "resource" earlier for a good reason. It's really the primary responsibility of each local to insure that it represents the identity of its people, where they're going and what their destiny is. As far as the IA goes, we will do everything we can internally to help them. We are the resource for legislative and educational assistance and negotiations. If we have expertise in a specific area we'll pass it along, but it has to be the local union that really buckles down to make sure that its members don't lose what they already have and that they actually make gains. I think the local unions sometimes depend too much on the IA. Some of them just go out and try to organize, but that's not enough. They have to stay involved with their members.
Anything else you want to convey?
Just that I'm here for the best interests of all of the people we represent. That's why Tom Short hired me, and that's why I accepted this position.
Reprinted from
The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter
Vol. 20, No. 1 - Jan/Feb 1999
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