#3 in a Series The Eastern Breeze News and Information from the Eastern Region by Martin Levenstein November 2 is the first anniversary of the merger between Locals 771, 776 and 780, forming the national Motion Picture Editors Guild, Local 700. During this past year, much energy has been devoted to making the merger work, and in my opinion, it has been very successful. We have an integrated national Board of Directors whose members work well together and an Eastern Region board that meets monthly to deal with specific concerns of Guild members who live and/or work on the East Coast. Locally, we have a much less complicated dues and billing system, with bookkeeping tasks performed in Hollywood. New member applications, membership records and servicing are also functions of the national office, as well as accounting, tax and legal responsibilities. Moving these tasks to Hollywood has streamlined operations in the New York office, allowing the staff to better concentrate on what counts: contract negotiations and servicing, investigation and resolution of grievance claims, assessing and responding to organizing opportunities, and other issues that affect our work and lives. With the merger also came a re-organization of our office staff. Lorraine Seidel, our new assistant executive director, is an energetic and dedicated individual with more than 19 years of administrative labor union experience. Norman Gay, our business representative, is a film editor as well as a labor professional, so he knows the ins and outs of cutting rooms. Sandy Fong-Ging, the Local 771 bookkeeper and senior employee, left on maternity leave in March and now she and her husband, Guild member Rick Derby, are parents of a lovely girl, Kemli. Guylene Sookhu, assistant bookkeeper under Sandy, remained as the office secretary. In mid-September Sandy returned from maternity leave and replaced Guylene. To further improve compatibility between the Guild offices, we have switched from a Macintosh to a PC-based computer network, providing direct online links to the national personnel and databases. Now, if an Eastern Region member calls the New York office with an issue, we are able to tap into the national office by computer and service the member immediately. The Eastern Region board is working to identify issues that are of specific importance to members who live and work in the area. One of these is a continuing education program designed to allow members to update their skills, as well as stay aware of what their peers in the field are doing. In addition, we plan to begin a dialogue with members who do not work in theatrical features (for example, documentaries and commercials) to try to determine if there are ways that a national guild can better serve them. Along this line, Lorraine has been initiating meetings with members in all classifications and categories, introducing herself on a personal level and getting to know the people who make up our community. We recently created a 7' x 3' banner proclaiming "Motion Picture Editors Guild, I.A.T.S.E. Local 700, The World's Finest Post-Production Professionals," which had its first use leading Guild members in the New York City Labor Day Parade on September 1. In a show of strength and solidarity, we joined other New York labor unions in the march to Central Park, where participants listened to a speech by AFL-CIO president John Sweeney. The banner next saw use as a backdrop at the Guild's booth at ShowBiz Expo East, held last month in New York. Please feel free to call the Eastern Region Guild office at (212) 302-0700 with any questions or concerns. We also encourage members to attend our Board meetings, generally held the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. If you would like to bring an issue before the Board, please call the Guild office to be placed on the meeting agenda; otherwise, check with the office to confirm the date, time and location.   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter Vol. 20, No. 6 - Sep/Oct 1999   Guild Home | Newsletter Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 1999, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700