#7 in a Series The Eastern Breeze News and Information from the Eastern Region New Focus on Documentaries by Martin Levenstein, Guild Second Vice President Feature films generally grab the headlines, but in our eastern region, the Guild has a distinguished community of editors and assistant editors who work on documentary projects. In the past, when the networks did more news and documentary specials, our people often worked in large shops under contract and received the salaries, benefits and job protections they deserved. Today, documentary work tends to be independently financed and staffed with smaller crews. It is not unusual for an editor with an Avid to be working alone in a producer/ director’s apartment. Contracts must be negotiated individually on a per-project basis, and often the producer, who might also be the filmmaker, is not receptive to making an agreement with the Guild. At the eastern region general membership meeting in December, a panel of documentary editors discussed their work and had a lively exchange of ideas with other members of the Guild. One point that resonated with those on the panel, as well as many documentary people in the audience, was that the Guild is not relevant to their work, largely because they almost always work nonunion. They didn’t feel that Guild programs were directed towards their needs. They were pleased that the Guild had produced the seminar, and were thrilled with the attention and response the discussion was eliciting from other members. Sparked by the evening’s success, the Guild decided to take advantage of the positive momentum and pursue what had always been a top priority: to strengthen ties with our documentary people by focusing on and quantifying their needs. In the process, we would facilitate our ability to encourage documentary producers to sign an agreement with the Guild. We want everyone who works on documentaries to be covered by a Guild agreement. In March and April of this year, two meetings were held at the Guild New York office to address these concerns. The first was chaired by Assistant Executive Director, Eastern Region, Lorraine Seidel, and made great progress in elucidating areas of concern and approaches to solving problems. Several Eastern Region Directors and Alternates were there, including myself. Some of the attendees at these meetings included Molly Bernstein, Mona Davis, Don Finamore, Jordan Flaherty, Melissa Hacker, Tom Heneke, Bill Kruzykowski, Donna Marino, Syndi Pilar, Larry Silk, Samantha Smith and Juliet Weber. A very open dialog ensued. One of the biggest concerns of both editors and assistants was that they be covered for benefits. No contributions are made into the pension plan if they work non-union, and independently-purchased, similar-quality health insurance is often prohibitively expensive. In fact, many told us that they remained in the Guild solely to self-pay into the health plan and continue to receive health benefits. Another concern, especially among assistants, was a need for guaranteed hours and wages. In the film years, an assistant and editor would work side by side, day in and day out. Now, an assistant might only work the first weeks of a job, perhaps to set up the show and digitize dailies, and then be called back for only a few hours a week on an as-needed basis. This is a difficult situation in which to earn a living, or to qualify for health and pension benefits. Many producers, we were told, have production interns who are in the cutting room doing work such as organizing tapes and materials and even digitizing. This is work that editors preferred to have their assistants do. Both assistants and editors miss the day-to-day mentoring contact they once had when they worked the same hours. Executive Director Ron Kutak attended the second meeting. He expressed his interest in securing workable and beneficial agreements for all members. Ron was excited about developing a new documentary contract in the eastern region, which could serve as a model for a national documentary contract. At these meetings, it was determined that the old Local 771 Basic Standard Agreement, which is the contract under which documentary work is normally done, was outdated and needs to be revised to make it more reflective of today’s working conditions. We felt that this would better serve our members and be more attractive to producers. Attention would be paid specifically to: wage and hour minimums overtime provisions health and pension contributions turnaround and cancellation provisions In the weeks following the meetings, the contract was rewritten with the idea of making it simpler yet still helpful for our members. The producer recognizes that the Guild is the bargaining agent for the editorial staff. Classifications and work descriptions are defined for Editor, Sound Editor, Music Editor, Assistant Editor and Editing Room Assistant. Pay scales are defined for each classification with guaranteed minimum rates of pay. The basic work-week is a 40 hour, 5-day-week with overtime and turnaround provisions. There are 11 paid vacation days during the year. A formula is developed for vacation pay. Pension and health benefit premiums are to be paid. Since most documentary editors and assistants have been accustomed to making their own deals, it was decided to keep the agreement flexible and responsive on a case by case basis. The Guild welcomes a dialog with editors and producers. Additionally, if there are issues unique to a particular production, which Local 700 is open to negotiating, these might also be incorporated into the agreement. The new version has been signed by producers whose old agreements with the Guild were up for renewal, and is being offered to producers who might be willing to sign agreements for the first time. We want everyone who works on documentaries to be covered. If you work or are going to work on a documentary anywhere in the Guild’s jurisdiction, call your local office and get assistance with the documentary agreement. There is no penalty for reporting non-union work and you may remain anonymous if you desire. The Guild has even written a letter, which you can give to producers to help you get a contract. We are confident that this agreement will create a stable and professional environment in which to work.   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Magazine Vol. 21, No. 3 - MayJune 2000   Guild Home | Magazine Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 2000, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700