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in England
by Ron Kutak , Guild Executive Director
In mid-June, the Guild held meetings in New York with BECTU (the Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union), which represents film and television craftspeople in England. BECTU came into existence in 1991 as a result of a merger between
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Legislation that followed Thatcher's election set in motion a chain of events that crippled unions |
The early 1980s was an extremely difficult time for entertainment unions in England, and produced a sea-change that resulted in a decline in membership from 60,000 to roughly 25,000 today. How and why did this happen? The answer is an interrelated chain of events that broke an extremely powerful union presence in the British film and TV industry and turned it into the struggling one the union has today.
First came Margaret Thatcher. Her initial campaign for office was based in part on her assertion that unions in England had become too strong and needed their power curtailed — and curtail them she did. Government legislation that followed her election severely limited the ways the union could function and set into motion a chain of events that have crippled unions in England, a country with a very long and strong labor history. For example, the union cannot strike for recognition in order to obtain an agreement. This means that if the employees of a company want a contract, they cannot strike to force the company to negotiate with the union. Instead they must schedule a ‘ballot for industrial action,’ which, in the case of a theatrical or non-series television product, sometimes cannot take place until after the show has wrapped production. In addition, the union cannot negotiate a security clause in their agreements, which means that even if a person is employed under a BECTU contract, he or she is under no obligation to join the union.
These and other legislative changes might seem like technicalities, but they had a powerful and pervasive effect. They emboldened employers to step up their attacks on the union. This resulted in a decline in the number of members, a decline in the number of contracts and a reduced revenue stream that made it all the more difficult for the union to spend the necessary money to fight what became a much tougher war.
Today, BECTU negotiates a freelance film and television agreement with their version of our AMPTP, called PACT (Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television). But unlike our agreements, theirs are merely voluntary for the involved companies. Even after negotiating an agreement, the companies are free to use it or not, production by production, as they see fit.
I had an opportunity several years ago to get a glimpse of the toll this has taken on the members and the craft. While meeting with BECTU in England, I attended a symposium scheduled at BAFTA (the British Academy). The purpose was to discuss the re-energizing of the British film industry. But once the discussion began, the only topic covered was why BECTU refused to allow their members to work on films without pay. The union was reduced to defending the right of a person to be paid for their work! The producers offered one self-interested rationalization after another and demonstrated a complete disregard for a person’s need to make a living and a total lack of respect for the crafts. It was difficult for me to witness, and vividly demonstrated that a hobbled union not only weakens the terms and conditions of all film and television employees, but worse, cheapens and devalues the craft itself.
What all this means to us should be clear. Our contractual structure, the way we are able to function and organize, our health plan, pension plan, health care for retirees and our newly revamped IAP, all are built on the strength we exercise on a daily basis. But they are not the ground under our feet — they can be modified, weakened, or eliminated in a very short period of time. As I have said and written many times, the people in the office and on the Board are not the union — you are. If the union is weakened, you are weakened, and the craft is weakened. All of our members, and all the members of the IATSE, need to realize how important union citizenship and vigilance is to their livelihood, their future, and the continuing integrity of our crafts.
Copyright © 2001, All Rights Reserved, The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700