IATSE 891 ratifies agreement with Champlain Media West

The multi-year agreement establishes floor wages and includes health and welfare payments.

Film workers in the B.C. Okanagan region have ratified a collective agreement between IATSE Local 891 and Champlain Media West (CMW).

IATSE says the deal marks the first multi-year agreement that IATSE 891 has signed with a prodco outside of the BC Council of Film Unions. Approximately 93% of the votes cast were in favour of the agreement, according to a news release.

The deal was announced on Feb. 5, and billed as “a big step in advancing unionized domestic motion picture opportunities.”

Crystal Braunwarth, IATSE Local 891’s business representative and the lead negotiator for the deal, said in a statement that the contract “establishes floor wages; per diem payments for distant locations; payment of health and welfare, RRSP, and vacation pay fringes,” and provides workers access to union representation.

CMW is part of Champlain Media, a production and distribution company, with offices in Toronto and Vancouver. The company has production hubs in Kelowna, B.C. and Toronto.

IATSE Local 891’s lead organizer Sano and organizer Conor Moore were credited for their work the last three years to pave the way toward contract negotiations, with Sano noting that “these workers have been fighting for over a year to make Kelowna a union town for film crews.”

CMW has not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

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