The Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) and Studio Transportation Drivers Local 399 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have reached an agreement that resolves disputed areas relative to gang bosses and motorhome drivers. The agreement incorporates new language and revisions into the original four-year contract entered into by the AICP and Local 399 in the summer of ’98, covering spot production in California, Nevada and Hawaii (SHOOT, 7/24/98, p. 1). The amended contract runs through June 30, ’02.
The revised pact was nearly a year and a half in the making, a process which included a Local 399 grievance filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), an arbitration hearing, and a moratorium on grievances so that both sides could work out their differences.
As earlier reported (SHOOT, 8/7/98), the filed grievance was over the status of motorhome drivers. Local 399 contended that motorhomes are regulated vehicles that are covered by its original labor contract with AICP, which went into effect July 1, ’98. Therefore, the union claimed that Teamster members should be hired as motorhome drivers for spot production. Associated Motorhome Owners (AMO), a group of some 35 Southern California-based motorhome companies, voiced opposition to that grievance, contending that motorhome drivers require Class-C commercial licenses per Department of Motor Vehicles regulations in California. Thus, argued the AMO, motorhome drivers aren’t subject to the original AICP-Teamsters agreement, which only covers A- and B-class licensed drivers.
The recently amended spot contract, which took effect last month, states clearly that all motorhomes need to be driven by Teamsters; the only exception being that you don’t have to transport a Teamster to a distant location to drive a motorhome. The labor pact also lists different California and Nevada counties outside the designated studio zones in which every effort must be made to hire a local Teamster. Furthermore, the agreement now requires that motorhome drivers also have a Class-B drivers license.
While the amended contract supports the union’s basic contentions, Local 399 also allowed motorhome operators to qualify for Teamster membership, according to the AMO. An AMO spokesman who recently became a Teamster member said that motorhome operators were satisfied with the Teamsters providing a window allowing inclusion into the union. "To my knowledge," said the AMO spokesman, "motorhome operators in our group have for the most part become Teamster drivers. Prior to this, we were told we couldn’t drive our own equipment and we weren’t permitted to join Teamster ranks."
As for gang bosses under the revised Teamsters contract, the commercial community gained a concession, according to AICP president Matt Miller. "For small-scale shoots-where you have a motorhome and a camera truck for pickup shots, for example-the agreement says that a Teamster gang boss is not required," related Miller. The amended pact describes small-scale shoots as those involving four or fewer production vehicles. (The contract defines "production vehicles" in detail for purposes of this clause.)
"A gang boss can be a benefit on a large crew," said Miller. "But when you have a small pickup day, it [a gang boss] can be very expensive."
Miller added that the aforementioned moratorium proved helpful in getting the two sides to approve the amended contract. As earlier reported (SHOOT, 12/11/98, p. 1), Local 399 and the AICP agreed to establish a temporary moratorium on filing grievances. The intent of the moratorium was to get Teamster members and AICP houses to become accustomed to working with one another under their original, ground-breaking contract. According to Miller, the AICP and the union also used that time to educate their respective members on contractual provisions and to try to resolve misinterpretations. After going through that process, both parties began talking about the situation. The moratorium filled the prescription recommended by the arbitrator of the union grievance filed with the NLRB. Miller said that the arbitrator advised the parties to enter a dialogue and to try to resolve their differences before attempting to seek arbitration as a final remedy. Helping to coordinate the AICP efforts was its manager of labor affairs and national government relations, Jane Nuoez. Both the original and amended agreements were negotiated by and exclusively for signatory members of the AICP.
A SHOOT phone call to Local 399 had not been returned at press time. In the past, Local 399 has maintained a policy that it will only comment to the press under the condition that the union get a copy of the story for review before publication. SHOOT has not agreed to that condition.
