Vancouver: The value of production budgets in b.c. will balloon by $140 million to $200 million in the next 12 months thanks to a historic labor agreement that simplifies union negotiations, predicts the chief negotiator for the major u.s. studios.

Nicholas Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in l.a., calls the one-year tentative deal struck between the B.C. Council of Film Unions and American and Canadian producers April 16 a major step forward in stabilizing the labor relations picture in Vancouver.

‘It’s vitally important for all companies that work in Vancouver,’ he says.

He believes the agreement – which merges the contracts of three technical and service unions into one master agreement – will build better long-term viability for b.c.’s film industry and looks forward to negotiating longer-term contracts.

To date, service production in b.c. has been ‘essentially chaos’ and fraught with ‘uncertainty,’ Counter explains, because of the myriad union negotiations required and troublesome union squabbling that led many u.s. producers to hearings at b.c.’s Labour Relations Board.

Now, with set wages and a single labor contract for certain kinds of production, producers can make ‘intelligent decisions’ about whether to base their projects in Vancouver, he adds.

The new production stimulated by the agreement will include five to 10 major feature films, mows and television series, all of which will be financed by u.s. companies, says Counter.

‘There was some hard bargaining and tough issues,’ he says, recalling the closed negotiations that began in January, after the lrb granted the Council exclusive bargaining rights over the high-end market in b.c. in December. ‘It was handled in a very professional manner,’ Counter adds, giving a special nod to the Labour Ministry’s assistant deputy minister Don Cott for keeping negotiations on track.

And even though the deal hasn’t yet been ratified by the membership rosters, Counter says American producers are now scouting Vancouver for new projects slated for this summer based on the assumption the deal will go ahead.

The task of selling the deal to union members falls on the leaders of the B.C. Council of Film Unions, a controversial group that comprises IATSE Local 891, IATSE Local 669 and Teamsters Local 155. They are recommending ratification of the precedent-setting contract, which was sent to 2,300 voting members the week of April 22. Ballots are expected to be counted by mid-May.

The contract covers all features with below-the-line labor costs exceeding $4 million, and mows and television series produced by the abc, cbs and nbc networks. Other work in b.c. is exempt from the contract and is negotiated in the traditional ways.

‘We want to capture a market that has traditionally alluded us,’ says Tim Hiltz, manager of business affairs at the Council. ‘The objective is to enhance our industry and create new opportunities for senior people to work on higher-caliber projects.’ Approval of the contract means it will be effective immediately, he says.

The Council, meanwhile, does not yet include the Directors Guild of Canada or b.c.’s amalgamated performers union, both of which have existing agreements with producers. It also excludes unions such as the acfc and cep, which have condemned the lrb for allowing the Council to corner the high-end market. The deal is also criticized for offering little to local producers.

Matthew O’Connor, president of Vancouver’s Pacific Motion Pictures and chair of the b.c. branch of the cftpa, says: ‘The agreement helps the service industry, but not ours, which seems to be what the provincial government wants. Now that we have the service industry’s house in order, we want the government to focus on our dwindling indigenous production.’

Involved in the negotiations that began in January were American producers representing Disney, Universal Productions Canada, Screen Gems, Warner Bros. Pictures (b.c.), Paramount Pictures Canada, Twentieth Century FOX Canada and Turner Films. Canadian producers were represented by Vancouver’s Crescent Entertainment and pmp.

According to the B.C. Film Commission, total production budgets for 1995 were $677.5 million and direct spending was $432 million. IE