NOR'EASTER
The Equity We Bring to Every Job
by Martin Levenstein
 Martin Levenstein |
Union organizing and providing training opportunities for our membership might seem to be very different subjects, but in reality they are closely intertwined. When your Guild staff speaks with potential signatory employers or potential new members, one of the strongest selling points is to tout our highly professional, creative and technically savvy membership.
Our members have the experience and skills to create and deliver professional product time after time after time. We have a track record of exciting and dependable post-production made under the union banner. That’s the equity we bring to every job. A wise producer appreciates the guarantee inherent in working with union members and respects our desire to earn a reasonable wage and benefits.
We believe non-union workers will be attracted to an opportunity to work in a highly professional career marketplace, where respect translates into good working conditions and pay, as well as an opportunity to work with talented people on challenging projects.
Offering comprehensive and thorough training is a high priority for the union. Our goal is to help our members remain competitive in our industry as it changes over time. Knowledge of craft and professionalism are cornerstones of this philosophy. In developing and implementing training experiences, we focus strongly on providing members with the tools to update their knowledge, to learn new equipment and techniques, and to refresh their experience when their skills feel rusty.
Equally important, however, is the bringing together of members to participate in a community where they can learn together, share knowledge and experience, and interact as artisans in an environment of post-production crafts. If we can create a learning venue where the most experienced are teaching and guiding those with less experience, we will go far toward creating a community of postproduction professionals who are truly the best. Work with the union label will be valued far and beyond non-union employment, and prospective members will see our training programs as an incentive to union membership.
To this end, the Eastern Region Board, under the leadership and guidance of Alternate Director Carrie Puchkoff and Guild member John Acosta, is developing and refining a training program to meet these goals. I’m sure you have received and read the many e-mails from intern Orion Gordon regarding our workshop and seminar offerings. In addition, we have a Training Room supporting Apple, Avid, Digidesign ProTools and Adobe Products. We constantly strive to obtain the most current hardware and software products.
Besides the group offerings, the Training Room is open during normal business hours for individual members in good standing to work on their own or to request one-on-one training to help with specific questions or techniques.
Experienced members conduct all of the training. A recent decision by the Eastern Region Board makes training free for all members in good standing who reside in the Eastern Region. The Help Fund, a fund from Local 771 in existence before the national merger and earmarked for the Eastern Region, currently pays for this training. Call New York Office Manager Sandy Fong-Ging at 212-302-0700 for more information.
Martin Levenstein, a Picture Editor member, is the Second Vice President on the Editors Guild Board of Directors.