Directors Guild Of Canada BC seeks first-ever strike Members vote OK after AMPTP trading hits “deadlock”

The Canadian Directors Guild, BC District Council, threatens to strike against the film and television industry for the first time after year-long negotiations with employers were suspended because the parties failed to reach agreement on a new contract. The strike effectively stopped production in British Columbia.

The union, whose current contract expires on March 31, 2021, is asking its 1,700 members for a “strike warrant”, which will allow them to go on strike if companies do not give up their current business position. Voting starts on Wednesday and ends on Thursday.

The Guild, which claims to have entered a “stalemate” with the companies, claims to have “done everything in its power, using every means available, to get a fair deal. Now the only option is to ask for a warrant. of strike “.

“For the first time in our history, DGC BC is urging its members to vote for strike,” said Alan Harmon, chairman of the DGC BC District Council. “We negotiated in good faith throughout the year, but the employer’s bargaining team was reluctant to get involved in our biggest problems and asked for more and more Klubek throughout the process. “Despite our willingness to compromise on important issues, they continued to score goals, which made it impossible for our people to reach a fair deal.”

The guild represents not only directors, but also second division directors, production and unit managers, departmental employees and assistant directors, as well as entry-level production assistants.

Employers are the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the Canadian Association of Media Producers, the Independent Producers Trade Association.

DGC BC claims to “fight for the respect, justice and safety of people working under its collective bargaining agreement, especially for the lowest paid and most vulnerable, which includes diverse and under-represented groups in the sector”.

The union says key issues include:

• Minimum Wage Gap – As the minimum wage increases, wage rates for low-paying positions should also increase. If the negotiating producers disagree on the established difference between the positions, the experienced members before the expiration of this contract can receive a minimum salary beyond the entry level. This is unacceptable. We need to protect those in our most vulnerable positions at the bottom of the pay scale.
• Covid Test Payment Terms: During the negotiation period, negotiators arbitrarily and unilaterally implemented Covid-related terms and conditions that were contrary to the terms and conditions of our collective agreement.
• Retroactivity of wages before the expiration of our last contract: all the other unions with which the negotiating producers have reached a collective agreement in the last two years have received transfers. The absence of a cancellation means a low salary increase in the first year.
• Producer Claims: The negotiating producers are trying to take away the benefits of the tough battle that is currently underway in the DGC BC collective agreement.

“It is incredibly confusing and frustrating that the same studios and manufacturing companies that are actively involved in efforts to diversify their workforce and attract people from underrepresented groups are at the same time striving for fair pay and treatment for our top-tier employees. . . “This is exactly the kind of work this new industry is about to do,” said Kendry Upton, CEO of DGC BC.

Guild says it’s not asking for anything that companies haven’t already offered to others in the film industry. The companies, he says, “did not want to address this legitimate concern and informed DGC BC that it was not ready for the changes it has now made to other associations, most notably IATSE in the United States.

“For example, the negotiating producers have retaliated against all the unions they have negotiated with in the past two years. They refused to accept this with DGC BC.

In May last year, after the companies had told the Union that they would not be available to negotiate for three months, the Union requested mediation from the Canadian Labor Relations Board, which appointed a mediator who met and accepted the proposals from both sides and made recommendations. Settlement on 6 August.

“The mediator’s recommendations required commitment from both sides,” the Guild said. DGC BC agreed with the Ombudsman’s recommendations for the conclusion of the agreement. The producers who participated in the negotiations rejected the mediator’s recommendations and continued to ask for further concessions. ADI BC was strong.

“The latest offer from the manufacturers participating in the negotiations contains the broker’s recommendations, as does their previous offer. DGC BC opposed this offer; The negotiating producers rejected the meter without consideration. The parties are at a standstill. “