*BC Council of Film Unions

The B.C. Council of Film Unions – comprising IATSE Locals 891 and 669 and Teamsters Local 155 – is already in preliminary talks with producers to renew the three-year Master Collective Agreement that rules most production in b.c.

The existing contract, which expires next spring, has been credited in part with the incredible growth of b.c.’s production sector in the past couple of years. Last year, direct spending by the industry totaled more than $800 million. This year, spending will top – perhaps by a wide margin – the magical $1-billion threshold.

All this success has put a kind of swagger in the stride of the local labor scene. Technical union IATSE 891 has doubled its roster of members in the past two years to 3,500. Slower-growing IATSE 669 and Teamsters have experienced about 20% growth in the past year to have memberships of 500 or more each.

Still, despite the good fortune, no one is expecting an easy time of it trying to roll over the contract for another long-term labor agreement. After all, Teamsters did not support the last agreement because of certain contract ‘sticking points’ and is only working because the truckers were outvoted by the iatse unions.

Because of this family discord and a host of intangible forces that muck up the bargaining table, Tom Adair, executive director for the Council, is loathe to predict how negotiations will proceed. ‘We’ve shown that we are partners in this industry,’ he says. ‘There is ample evidence that [the Master] has had the desired effect. I don’t see why everyone shouldn’t be supportive of a renewal.’

Labor peace – still a kind of novelty for b.c. – has streamlined the checking in process. Producers know their parameters; workers know their employment conditions. The system works as well for producers who begin consultations with unions five months before they start, or five minutes, says Adair.

Should the contract be renewed without incident, the Council has other plans afoot.

Adair wants the Council to be a driving force to keep b.c. ahead of the production trends. And Adair says a lot of change is ahead.

b.c.’s industry has been built on growth, niche markets. mows, which didn’t really exist as a production form a decade ago, have become a staple in Vancouver, which offers producers an mow manufacturing model that can turn a profit. The local industry also grew with the advent of the cable and specialty channels and their need for syndicated series television.

But in 1999, b.c. has been the beneficiary of the growth in the smaller feature film market and the Canadian domestic industry. People weaned on u.s. syndicated television are now moving to homegrown and big-screen projects, which have their own demands.

And Adair questions how the growth of the Internet, multimedia and niche cable networks will affect the way production people work.

Given the b.c. industry’s genesis, the local industry is well positioned to continue to adapt as the new demands come on stream, he says.

The dynamism in the market puts new pressures on the need for training, he adds. The unions have their union initiatives, but they also support the newly formed B.C. Institute of Film Professionals. The Institute, which is supported by all sectors of the industry, is mandated to provide training and education.

That growing interdependency in the industry needs to be recognized, says Adair. In that way, the Council and unions are part of the bigger scheme.

‘[Unions] have a fair amount of influence,’ says Adair. ‘General knowledge and experience rests with the unions. We can look to the past to see how we handled change and that allows us to be adaptable as we look forward.’

by Ian Edwards

*UBCP

Sadly, the only worker in the b.c. film and television industry unable to really cash in on the current production gold rush is the actor.

The supply companies and technical unions scrambling to keep up with the wave of new production shoe-horning itself into Vancouver this year don’t have to audition, capture the essence of an elusive character or worry about whether their look is right. But local film and television actors still have to play the casting lottery.

However, the odds of the gambit are clearly much better and the yields much higher for actors struggling in a boom economy rather than struggling in a bust economy.

At the Union of BC Performers, membership has risen 10% over the year to 2,400, says Alex Taylor, director of collective bargaining.

Performer earnings are also on track to rise 20% to 30% over the year.

And now that b.c. is guaranteed labor peace on the acting front until 2002, ubcp can get its nose out of the contracts to look at the big picture – and find ways to fill it with b.c. actors.

In July, ubcp signed a three-year b.c. Master Production Agreement. At the time, ubcp was the good son in a nation-wide squabble between actra members and producers that threatened to shut down the industry – except in b.c., where warmer feelings characterized negotiations for the West Coast’s separate-from-the-rest-of-Canada contract.

After a year-long experiment with its first master collective agreement, ubcp ratified a three-year deal that elapses at the end of March 2002.

‘We couldn’t be more pleased,’ says Taylor. ‘Producers and performers alike have certainty for the foreseeable future. It’s a fair and balanced agreement that is running smoothly.’

For the union, time away from the bargaining table means that it can focus on other issues.

‘It’s fair to say that for the past five years, we’ve been more reactive than proactive,’ observes Taylor. ‘We now have the opportunity to look at other areas of our industry and come up with solutions.’

The union has more time to consult on the recent b.c. talent agency regulations and on the two-year provincial review of the child actors regulations, for example.

ubcp can also devise inducements to make b.c. talent more attractive to the producers who control the good roles.

‘We’re looking forward to working with producers here and in Los Angeles to come up with ways of leveling the playing field for Canadian performers,’ says Taylor cryptically, since he does not offer any examples at the moment.

Too often local talent gets to play day players such as the disposable thug, the friend, the neighbor and any other minor characters instead of getting the juicier career-building roles. The X-Files began to change that situation when as many as 13 locals got prime roles. Taylor wants to see that happen more. ‘We want more Canadians in leads,’ he says.

ubcp is more inclined to push the economic benefits of hiring locals; producers don’t have to pay for hotels and accommodation, for instance. In the worst-case scenario, the union has the mechanism to apply penalties to producers not hiring Canadians. But that’s not likely, at least in the short term.

If successful in opening more doors for local talent, the union will be able to get a better seat on Vancouver’s production gravy train – even though that still offers no guarantees for job security.

‘There is a lot of production coming here,’ says Taylor. ‘And a lot of [actors] are working. But unemployment is a professional hazard for performers.’