EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
A Guild in Progress
by Ron Kutak
 Ron Kutak |
In 1987, our 50th anniversary, we were a union of only editorial employees. Our jurisdiction was only Los Angeles County and San Francisco, our total membership was just shy of 3,000 and our classification encompassing picture editors numbered around 1,300. The issues weren't a lot different than the issues of today, mostly technology related and, specifically, the problems and opportunities of videotape editing.
Looking forward at that time, we thought employment in cable television would rise. Little did we know how much and what that would come to mean as non-traditional programming grew to what it is today. Employment patterns were more predictable, and the last vestigial practices of the old studio system still existed for many of our members.
Today, on our 70th anniversary, our membership is approaching 7,000, and includes not only editorial classifications, but also re-recording classifications and story analysts. The old studio system is almost a memory, and our jurisdiction is nationwide. We have organized employees and obtained agreements in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York––and currently have an effort underway in Chicago.
Our technological challenges continue to exist, as digital post-production and now digital production have altered the workflow and created new jobs while amalgamating––and in some cases eliminating––old ones. Yet our membership and our Guild have been and continue to be resilient. Yesterday's difficulties have not changed us for the worse; in fact, we have embraced the industry changes, much to our benefit, and will continue to do so.
Looking forward to our 75th anniversary, we have a challenging time ahead. Our technological hurdles are not just the digital aspect of our workflow, but the rapidly changing distribution and delivery methods of programming that are changing the economic models of our business, and the effect those methods will have on the money we receive into our benefit plans from residuals.
The WGA, SAG, and DGA are all renegotiating their agreements in the near future, and it is no secret these changing and developing delivery systems will be at the forefront of their negotiations, which are likely to be contentious.
Nonetheless, we have faced challenges before and prevailed, and so too will this pass. I am confident when it comes time for our 75th anniversary, we will look back on these times as times of challenge--but also times of progress.