The Association of Canadian Film Craftspeople has taken formal steps to merge its Ontario membership into the fold of rival craft union IATSE Local 873 Toronto.

The acfc has handed iatse an amalgamation proposal which lays out a number of discussion points that potentially could result in the demise of the acfc in Ontario, says acfc president John Subotich. The first formal meeting between the unions took place May 14. Depending on how quickly negotiations go, Subotich says a deal could tentatively see a membership vote as early as mid-July.

Merger talks have been spurred by a long-running and aggressive competition between the Toronto locals of iatse, nabet and the acfc which has eroded the pay rates and working conditions of technicians and ultimately dried up the acfc’s share of work.

‘We are getting battered from both ends,’ says Subotich of the three-union rivalry.

James Wood, business agent at Local 873, confirms the present competition is causing a downward effect on wages and benefits, and its membership feels technicians in Toronto would be best served by a merged labor organization. As to a time frame for a deal, Wood says ‘everyone would like to bring it to a conclusion sooner rather than later.’

According to Subotich, acfc pay rates have fallen by 5% over the past five years. Although rates have remained stable between ’96 and ’97, the overall trend is negative. Work days are currently averaging 10 to 12 hours straight time, against the standard of nine. Work terms are also deteriorating for its technicians. Subotich cites an enormous extension of geographical boundaries which reduces the penalties and premiums producers must pay.

The acfc has also seen its share of work in Toronto drop dramatically, another factor spurring the merger initiative. In the late ’80s, iatse took on the bulk of the big-budget offshore work while the acfc was the dominant force on the Canadian production front, representing technicians on 60% of the projects in Toronto. But over the last few years that number has dropped to 10% and continues to hover at that level.

Subotich places most of the blame for the acfc’s loss of work on nabet’s undercutting tactics when it entered the film scene aggressively in the late ’80s.

‘They came in and slashed and burned our ability to negotiate reasonable contracts by giving up rates and conditions,’ he says. The acfc wouldn’t play their game, he continues, and stuck to its minimum standards. Canadian producers went with the lowest bid and nabet edged in on their market share of work.

Talks with iatse come in the wake of a failed attempt to get nabet to the table to discuss a merger, says Subotich. ‘They have declined every opportunity to talk, so our membership said forget it, screw them, let’s talk to iatse.’

Linda Gardon, business rep and secretary treasurer of NABET-CEP Local 700, disputes these accusations. She says initially the acfc executive spoke with them about pursuing a merger and nabet formed a committee to look into the matter. But the acfc membership vet’ed against its executive because a strong element favored amalgamation with iatse. Months later when the acfc invited both iatse and nabet to their table to make a merger presentation, nabet declined, deciding that since the acfc members appeared in favor of merging with iatse there was no point in pursuing further talks.

But Gardon holds the view that a merger between iatse and the acfc would be beneficial for nabet members, saying the Toronto film industry isn’t large enough to support three labor organizations and noting that many acfc members are nabet cardholders as well.

If the potential merger g’es through, competition will be reduced and producers landing projects in Ontario will likely be dishing out higher union rates, says Mireille Watson, the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association’s vp industrial relations and training. And this could potentially affect production levels.

‘It’s becoming more and more expensive for Canadian companies to produce programs and licence fees are not keeping pace,’ says Watson. ‘Even the large Canadian companies work on small margins, so any change in rates will have an effect.’

But small indie producers, who already have difficulty piecing together financing under current conditions, will be hit hardest if union rates hike budgets.

As well, Watson notes the acfc negotiates rates on a project-by-project basis and traditionally has made accommodations for lower budget indie producers to help greenlight Canadian programming. She questions whether, post a takeover, iatse would be prepared to make similar accommodations to support local filmmakers. She speculates that some of the really low-budget, traditionally acfc-represented productions would be forced to go non-union.

In terms of the lucrative American service projects, Watson says Ontario will lose a bit of its competitive edge over other provinces, but service levels likely won’t change significantly.

However, Gardon d’esn’t expect pay rates to jump dramatically because the unions recognize they would lose contracts to non-union workers if rates soar. Over the long term, however, she speculates that substantial rate increases are possible.

Wood argues that producers will benefit from access to a larger labor pool if they sign with the merged union as it will solve the problem often encountered during peak seasons of production activity when all the Ontario labor organizations run out of categories of craftspeople.

But negotiations with iatse will hinge on whether the union will agree to assimilate all of acfc’s members into their fold and, according to Subotich, iatse wants to take only the cream of their technician crop.

‘The pivotal point to the success of the merger is their willingness to take 100% of our members without exclusion,’ he says. The acfc’s Ontario membership numbers have remained stable despite its loss of work, with 250 full members and 150 associates.

But the old guard ­ members from the late ’80s ­ have been courted by the other unions and left the acfc fold. New technicians, non-union workers and those who were unhappy with the other unions have replaced the long-standing members.

Also at stake in the current negotiations is the issue of seniority. acfc members do not follow a seniority model and are opposed to such a grid. iatse also has a strict ‘no contract, no work’ policy whereas the acfc is more flexible and will reluctantly allow its members to find work where they can, says Subotich, even if that means working without a signed collective agreement.

The acfc attempted amalgamation talks with iatse in 1989 and discussions have failed at least three times since then, 1995 being the time of the last round of talks. According to Wood, previous merger proposals failed because ‘the acfc didn’t desire a merger in the past,’ but he senses its members are now looking more favorably on the option.

Subotich admits that being swallowed up by its longtime arch rival is a last-ditch option. ‘They are the big American machine,’ he says of iatse. ‘We would like to continue and thrive but there’s a lack of support from Canadian producers, and if our own industry d’esn’t support us, then there’s no reason to be here.’