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Eclair ACL Good news in the fight against Canadian subsidies...
Hi....more good news in the fight to bring down illegal Canadian subsidies
which have driven our jobs away....
Now's a good time to get involved. Check out www.ftac.org and go to the
next meeting.
If you're crew: Forcing Canada to remove their subsidies will bring back
production to the US, meaning you won't have so much time between
projects,
there will be jobs available on bigger projects and you'll be able to work
in Canada if you want. We also have to get IATSE to renegotiate the
Canadian contracts so they don't undercut our contract.
If you're a vendor, rental house, etc. More US production will result in
more rentals, sales, etc. If the ITC finds Canada in violation of NAFTA
(which they are) you'll be able to sue the Canadian government for lost
income during the time of the subsidies. This has occured successfully in
other industries.
If you're a production company, more US production will mean more EPK work
here in LA, and a greater likelyhood that a studio will hire your services
to produce programming.
We all gain by bringing back production to LA. Now's the time for the
final
push, and the FTAC needs your support. NOW'S THE TIME!
www.ftac.org
Warren Yeager, SOC
www.warrenyeager.com
----- Original Message -----
From: <usr1035@warrenyeager.com>
To: <wy@warrenyeager.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2002 9:36 AM
Subject: [Fwd: Hollywood History Made - Jan 30, 2002...]
>
> >
> > From: FTAC <FTAC@ftac.net>
> > Date: 2002/02/06 Wed AM 02:23:51 EST
> > To: FTAC_Supporters@ftac.net
> > Subject: Hollywood History Made - Jan 30, 2002...
> >
> > AN HISTORIC DAY IN HOLLYWOOD
> >
> >
> > HOLLYWOOD-January 30, 2002 was an historic day in Hollywood today and
it
> > culminated in an amazing two-hour session at the Hollywood Heritage
Museum.
> > Some 40 film workers from Teamsters to movie stars to stunt men to
> > assistant directors to grips poured out their hearts to four
> > representatives of the U.S. International Trade Commission about the
> > runaway jobs crisis.
> >
> > The occasion was a fact-finding mission to Hollywood by
representatives
of
> > the government agency charged with enforcing U.S. trade law. Last
Monday
> > and Tuesday the delegation was escorted by the studios and given an
> > overview of what the studios consider the film business. Today was our
day
> > and for the first time in anyone's memory, a panel of government
officials
> > was listening to the rank and file side of the story.
> >
> > For the ITC (US International Trade Commssion) and the US Commerce
> > Department, it was a ten-hour day of meetings and tours. It took them
from
> > vendors, to post production facilities, to independent studios, to
meetings
> > with SAG officials, and finally to the 100 year old barn on Highland
Avenue
> > that houses the Hollywood Heritage Museum and that served as the first
film
> > studio in Hollywood. They listened intently, took notes, and asked
> > questions as one film worker after another detailed their own personal
> > stories of the collapse of an industry. The unseasonably cold winds
had
> > knocked out the heating in the barn and the cold and the gloom of the
> > museum only served as counterpoint to the passion and anger that
filled
the
> > room.
> >
> > The mission of the ITC and the Commerce Department is to administer US
> > trade remedy law in a fair and objective manner, and they left us with
no
> > doubts in our mind that this dedicated group of professionals would do
> > exactly that. Among other things our tour pointed out that the studios
> > alone do not represent the industry. The group saw for themselves that
the
> > studios main function is stage rental and product distribution. The
work
of
> > our industry is now sourced out to countless small struggling
enterprises
> > and tens of thousands of independent workers who move from job to job.
> >
> > Especially notable was the spontaneous outpouring of anger against
IATSE
> > leaders that came not just from IATSE members but from SAG, DGA,
Teamsters,
> > Laborers, and vendors. This anger was directed at Tom Short's apparent
> > support of the Canadian subsidies, his claim that IATSE members are
not
> > effected by the Canadian runaways, his status as unelected union boss,
and
> > his intimidation of IATSE locals on the countervailing duties (CVD)
issue
> > was passionately denounced by the film workers.
> >
> > It was an historic day because film workers for the first time since
the
> > 1940's were uniting across union lines in a powerful coalition to
defend
> > their interests against the studios. It was historic because "rust
belt"
> > workers of a dying industry had returned to the oldest building in
> > Hollywood and the very birthplace of our industry, to save an industry
that
> > took generations of sweat and toil to build. It was historic because
after
> > four years of struggle, we have finally found someone in the
government
who
> > will listen to us, and when we provide them with the facts, has the
power
> > to subpoena the financial information from the studios and obtain
other
> > information unavailable to us.
> >
> > Our law firm, Stewart and Stewart, is the best in the country on
> > countervailing tariffs. Not only have they won numerous CVD cases, but
also
> > they were negotiators who helped write the law under which we will
secure
> > them. The legal costs will be steep, but we are confident that the
film
> > community will come through with the funding. Last Sunday, Teamsters
Local
> > 399 voted unanimously to contribute $20,000 to our legal fund, which
comes
> > on top of the $6,000 in startup funds they have already contributed.
> >
> > We are continuing our fundraising campaign with both individuals and
> > companies. We have now achieved a stage of creditability and momentum
that
> > is already showing results by an increased level of financial
> > contributions. In the mean time, we are still soliciting contributions
from
> > all our supporters. Now is the time for our IA locals to break lose
from
> > intimidation from above and contribute to the FTAC legal fund. If we
stand
> > together we can defeat the Valenti/Short alliance and bring our jobs
home.
> > Please send all contributions to FTAC, 11271 Ventura Blvd. Suite 418,
> > Studio City, CA 91604
> >
> > This battle is ours to lose. We have a bewildering array of legal and
> > bureaucratic hurdles to overcome before the duties become law, but the
ITC
> > representatives left us with the clear impression that this is
> > one government agency that will remain impartial and will not be
swayed
> > from their duty to uphold the law regardless of the political and
financial
> > power of our opponents. Our ranks are growing but so is the workload.
Facts
> > are what the government needs to uphold our claims and the job of
supplying
> > those facts falls to us as initiators of the petition. We are asking
you
to
> > join us and volunteer to help in our quest to contact all of our
fellow
> > film workers and vendors. Join us and lend your energy to a cause that
is
> > not only just and has the moral high ground but a cause that will
bring
> > your job home.
> >
> > Come to our next meeting:
> > FTAC TARIFF COALITION MEETINGS
> > Each Month •1st & 3rd Thursday • 7:30 PM
> >
> > HOLLYWOOD CENTER STUDIOS
> >
> > CORNER OF LAS PALMAS AND SANTA MONICA BLVD.
> > HOLLYWOOD (Use parking lot "A" or "D")
> > (800) 863-6134 www.ftac.net
> >
> >
> > Film and Television Action Committee
> > ftac@ftac.net
> >
> > Feel Free to call us at: 1-800-863-6134
> > Or Fax us at: 818-990-8672
> > Or write to us at:
> > 11271 Ventura Blvd.
> > Studio City, California, U.S.A. 91604
Warren Yeager, SOC
www.warrenyeager.com
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