The Long Hello

by Tris Carpenter, National Organizer

photo by Alec Boehm

The office gets pretty quiet after 5:30 p.m., almost too quiet. I'm just getting caught up on some unanswered e-mail when the phone rings.

"I need to talk to someone," comes the response. There's a hint of anxiety to the voice, just enough to make me wonder why I don't answer the phone more politely.

"What's that?" I soften the tone, trying to calm down the caller. There's a pause, and the sound of a hard swallow. Then, "I heard about that feature they shot in Australia."

"Yeah, I think it's called Kangaroo Court," I snicker. I'm tired, but not beyond trying to crack a bad joke.

"Stop acting like a moron," says the voice. "I'm talking about the movie from Warner Brothers and Village Roadshow."

"You mean Queen of the Damned," I say. "An anonymous "friend" was over on the Warner Brothers lot and heard about this picture -- shot down under but posted in Burbank. They called it in to me. My partners and I checked it out and it really paid off. The producer signed an IATSE agreement after they found out that the crew was almost 100% behind us."

I lean back in my chair and look out on Sunset Boulevard. The sun is almost gone, and the usual assortment of Hollywood denizens is just starting to poke their sleepy heads out of the condos and hip apartments above Franklin. The neon starts to cut through the dusk, a beacon for the dreamers and downtrodden.

While I'm wondering what it is about this business that makes some people think it's acceptable to try to screw everybody, the voice says "I also heard about no good deed."

"I know plenty of no good deeds," I sneer, "and plenty of no good people who do them."

"No, I meant the film, No Good Deed," says the voice, irritated. "It was shot in Canada and they were doing the post over in Culver City."

"Oh, yeah. That was another anonymous tip. We organized the post after someone reported that the show was being done non-union," I say. "My partners, Andy Larson and Jim Saunders, got in touch with the crew and had that show put away in a flash. Next thing I know, the producer is signing an agreement for the post."

"Say," I continue, suspicion flashing up my back like a squirrel with a Rottweiler on his tail. "How do you know all this?"

This is just what I need: more mysteries. But some of these calls pan out. So I decide to push a little myself.

"I get a few of these calls a month, reporting a non-union show where the crew isn't being treated properly. They want to know what the Guild can do about it," I say.

I pause for a second. Maybe the importance didn't sink in. I try another tack. "The old days are gone -- we can't make a producer sign an agreement with just a phone call. We've got to organize the crew, but we can't organize what we don't know about."

Cautiously, the voice starts again. "That's why I'm calling. I want to tell you about a show, but you can't use my name."

"Well, that's just fine by me," I say, grabbing a pen and a pad of paper. "What's the show and where's it at?"

All kidding aside, anonymous calls do help. When we get these tips, we try to find some way to check them out. A crew list (which could be faxed anonymously) can help us make some personal contact with the crew, and begin the organizing process. In both examples above, the producers agreed to sign an IATSE contract and the crews got the pay and benefits they deserved. So if you or your "friend" is working non-union, give us a buzz. You can even call yourself Sam Spade if you'd like. Here's how to contact us:

Wilshire Stages, the post-production sound company organized by the Guild last spring, signed an IATSE agreement in January, 2002. They've received a great deal of attention recently for mixing the Keifer Sutherland series 24 Hours, and have a number of other union projects lined up. A special thanks to everyone who helped make this possible, especially our members who took time out of their busy schedules to vote in the NLRB election.