The Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) and New York-headquartered Motion Picture Studio Mechanics Local 52, IATSE, have come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Local 52 East Coast membership includes grips as well as lighting and set construction workers.
The AICP and Local 52 had been operating under a CBA which expired in June ’98. The newly modified pact covers a period from Dec. 1, ’99 through Nov. 30, 2002.
At press time, Local 52 president George De Titta said he wasn’t at liberty to publicly comment on the agreement because it was still subject to ratification by union members.
The new contract clearly states that it applies only to signatory AICP member companies engaged in commercial production. While that may seem to be a minor point, it offers important clarification to production companies that are involved in more than spots, related AICP president Matt Miller. As a signatory to the agreement, an AICP-member company must conform to contract provisions and have a union crew for commercials. But the same company might have a different working arrangement for music videos independent of the commercial CBA. The spot contract cannot be used as a means of enforcing the music video endeavors of an AICP production house. Under the prior CBA, there was some confusion in that regard.
"The AICP negotiates contracts as a collective bargaining unit for the TV commercial industry," Miller explained. "Some of our member companies wear several hats—doing commercials, videos and independent films. For those companies, we only speak on behalf of their role in commercials when it comes to labor negotiations."
AICP national vice chairman Al Califano—a member of the AICP labor committee, which negotiates contracts—also noted that the new agreement with Local 52 is significant because it is "a commercials-only contract. … We’ve been able to do the same with the IATSE contract in Los Angeles, and intend to continue establishing commercials-only contracts in our upcoming agreements in New York. It’s a healthy change from the past, when we were working under adapted agreements from the feature business. Now we have agreements that recognize what goes on in commercial production."
Miller added that the modified CBA has new provisions that have been standard in other spot labor contracts. For example, there’s a clause stating that during the term of the agreement, there shall be no strikes, picketing or work stoppages by Local 52, nor can there by any lockout by producers. In the case of complaints, disputes or grievances that cannot be resolved by the two parties, the pact calls for arbitration as the means for settlement.
A key union gain in the newly modified contract is the establishment of a 401(k) plan, separate from any existing employee benefit or welfare fund. "I think that’s a great development for crew people," assessed Califano, who noted that the 401(k) plan does not involve employer contributions. The new contract also calls for a five percent increase in minimum wage scales effective Dec. 1, ’99, and three percent hikes on both Dec. 1, 2000, and Dec. 1, 2001.
