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The Guild has hired an organizer to work full time in the New York office. Arsenia Reilly has studied extensively in labor and related fields and has been active in labor organizing for
This is an extremely important step: the first time since I have been a union member in New York that we have had a person whose sole job is to help sign union work. Unless members have the opportunity to work under Guild agreements, they will not enjoy the full benefit of union membership. Also, through organizing, we will likely attract new members, making the Guild an even stronger organization. Thanks to Executive Director Ron Kutak, National Organizer Tris Carpenter and Assistant Executive Directors Cathy Repola and Paul Moore for deciding that the Eastern Region needed an organizer and to the Board of Directors who showed their support by ratifying this decision. The Guild has made an investment in the future of its members on the East Coast and across the nation. Best wishes to Arsenia in her new job. The Guild administration and Board of Directors does its best to help members enjoy stable and rewarding careers. But the Guild is only one part of the equation. Members cannot realize all the benefits of Guild membership unless they take an active role and help themselves. If you are working on a job that is not under an agreement, call Paul or Norman Gay and see if there is a way that an agreement can be negotiated.
Embracing the concept of editors teaching editors, the Guild has opened a training room in the New York office. Thanks to the efforts of Assistant Executive Director Paul Moore, Avid Technologies has graciously provided a system on which our members can train. Avid's David Frasco gave his support and immeasurable help in obtaining the equipment for us and we thank him very much. The machine is Avid's latest Meridien Media Composer, Version 11, and
Due to the efforts of Senior Marketing Manager Craig Yanagi and National Market-ing Manager Robin Richards, Sony Broadcast has agreed to provide a DSR-2000, their top-of-the-line, professional DVCAM deck, as well as a professional NTSC monitor. Special thanks to Sony, Craig, Robin and board member Steve Cohen for helping to arrange this. Assistant Editor John Acosta has volunteered his time to get the Avid up and running. John has also developed classes and teaches Avid editing and assistant editing at the Borough Of Manhattan Community College, LaGuardia Community College and at Film/Video Arts. Working with the Eastern Region board, John is helping to develop a curriculum and a manual with the goal of giving our members an opportunity to learn to use the Avid in ways specific to their work. There will be classes geared to the requirements of both editors and assistants, and teachers will be Guild members experienced in the field. Ample lab practice time will be available to students once they have taken an introductory course or have demonstrated an ability to use the Avid at an introductory level. As of this writing, classes are planned to begin in November, and costs will be subsidized by the Help Fund. Information about course offerings will be periodically sent to all members. We are working to obtain equipment from other manufacturers so that we may offer additional training on both picture and sound platforms. If you can help, please contact Paul Moore or me in the East Coast office.
The Guild is looking for new office space in New York and is planning to purchase a property in partnership with the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans. The lease on our West 46th St. office is held by the New York Producers and Editors Pension and Health Plans. But the merger of these plans into the MPIPHP means that the leaseholder no longer exists and a new lease would increase our rent very dramatically. (For more about the Pension and Welfare plans merger see our September/October issue.) The Guild is committed to having an office in Manhattan, located conveniently to serve all Guild members. After discussion and consultation, Ron Kutak, Paul Moore and the board determined that
The Bread & Roses Cultural Project is the not-for-profit cultural arm of New York's Health & Human Services Union (SEIU Local 1199). The group invited Local 700 to participate in their photography exhibit, A Day in the Life of a Union Member, showcasing the working world of union members from around the city. Michael Ginsburg, a photographer from the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600, visited many of our members in their workplaces and took pictures. The exhibit was shown from September 17 to October 15 at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Labor Center, Gallery 1199, 310 W. 43rd Street, where 18 pictures of our members engaged in their crafts stood side by side with those of other union workers in the city. Eastern Region Board members A. Maddy Shirazi and Harry P. Bolles helped coordinate the event for our Guild. They devoted a great deal of time to the planning and choosing of the pictures and deserve our thanks. Rytva Soni Tilson of Bread & Roses came to our September quarterly membership meeting to tell members about the exhibit and to encourage them to attend. She is now looking for other venues for the show. Eventually, pictures from the Local 700 shoot will be hung in our new offices. Eastern Region members were notified by e-mail of the exhibit, and I hope many were able to attend.
If we don't have your e-mail address, and you would like us to use this method to inform you about Guild events, please e-mail office manager Sandy Fong-Ging, at or call her in the New York office.
Wednesday, December 4, 6:30 p.m. |
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