Vancouver: In a market already known for its protracted inter-union squabbles, b.c.’s Labour Relations Board is in a position to either quell the fires or fan them like never before.

Informal hearings that began in June continue at the lrb regarding a proposal by four local unions to accredit the B.C & Yukon Council of Film Unions as the single voice for union bargaining in the province.

Technical union IATSE 891, camera unit IATSE 691, Teamsters 155 and the Union of B.C. Performers – as members of a loose council formed four years ago, in part to fend off outside competition in the jurisdiction from groups such as acfc and Nabet – are co-applicants of an application to Section 41 of the Labour Relations Code, which pertains to trade union councils.

Remaining joint council member, the b.c. branch of the Directors Guild of Canada, is not a co-applicant.

Peter Partridge, ubcp president and chair of the joint council, says the application, if approved, will contribute to the ‘peace, stability and prosperity’ of the b.c. production industry.

But not everyone is on-side with the proposal that unifies labor here.

actra-bc, and the local branches of acfc and Nabet have come out against the application since they feel their existences are threatened.

‘Confusion reigns,’ says actra-bc president Scott Swanson. ‘We have no idea what [the joint council] is going to look like, how it’s going to operate, whether the industry will run more smoothly, less smoothly.’

Says Partridge: ‘The only threat is if they choose not to participate and make a case for themselves,’ adding, ‘unions that remain independent of the bargaining council’ are taking a gamble.’

Remain autonomous

He says that under the proposal, unions will remain autonomous, with room for their own negotiations.

He says there is also no reason to believe that the Section 41 applicants will be the only members of a council bargaining group.

According to Partridge, the benefits will be standardized collective agreements for u.s. productions, Canadian productions, and student films, for example.

An accredited joint council will ensure minimum employment standards for all unions and also show a unified face to the visiting American producers responsible for about 80% of the annual work before cameras.

But the Canadian Film & Television Producers Association also has problems with the proposal.

Says Mireille Watson, director of industrial relations at the cftpa:

‘Since our production company members range from large corporations to small indigenous producers, the more flexibility in bargaining with unions and guilds the better. This proposal tends to create a monopolistic situation.’

L.A. junket

The initiative began in March when the joint council travelled to Los Angeles to talk to the major studios such as Disney, Universal and mgm about their concerns about working in b.c. and learned that American producers believe the unions here are becoming inflexible and less accommodating.

The producers said they are beginning to look at other jurisdictions.

Mentioned, too, were the ongoing rivalries between actors’ unions actra-bc and ubcp, and technical unions acfc and iatse.

And since livelihoods and a burgeoning industry are at stake, Partridge now urges a new spirit of co-operation among stakeholders for the continued health of an industry that spent more than $400 million directly in the b.c. economy in 1994.

The official application was sent to B.C. Labour Minister Dan Miller April 12 and was referred to the lrb to resolve.

The lrb, meanwhile, is no stranger to film industry disputes, with many of the inter-union problems resulting in jurisdictional and certification hearings over the past several years.

Producers’ groups, industry associations, independent parties and unions inside and outside the application group continue to speak to the five-member lrb panel to educate them about the trends and issues in the film industry.

The goal in this first phase is to reach an industry consensus. Failing that, formal hearings begin in October when the panel is expected to render its decision.

There have only been two such union councils formed in b.c. – one for the construction trades and one for the unions involved with B.C. Rail.