UNIONS & GUILDS

IATSE

(INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF THEATRICAL STAGE EMPLOYEES) HTTPS://IATSE.NET/JOIN/

The International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE), negotiate contracts called “collective bargaining agreements” (CBA)—that govern the minimum wages, hours, working conditions, and benefits for its members employed in Film production.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED – STRIKE AVERTED

Unions and guilds are deeply embedded in the entertainment industry.

Whether you have the option of joining a union or guild depends on whether a union or guild covers your job or “craft” in the region you work in. Unions and guilds inform members about open job opportunities in their craft and help negotiate better working conditions, hours, wages, health benefits, and retirement benefits.

Each union and guild has different membership requirements. These differences are both regional and trade-specific.

Below is information about specific local and national unions and guilds that support the careers in entertainment featured here.

A GUIDE TO DIFFERENT UNIONS AND GUILDS

LIST OF IATSE LOCALS BY JURISDICTION

  • Production assistants are not represented by a union, which means their responsibilities can vary greatly depending on whether a production is union or non-union. 

  • On a union production, every job is highly-regulated by that production’s agreement with a union (or unions), which means a PA would have less variety in their duties. A non-union production can ask a PA to perform any number of jobs and at any level (within reason). 

  • For some Unions  there is a 30 days rule-

    You have to work for 30 days in a covered craft on productions under a collective bargaining agreement in order to apply for memberships for some locals. Productions usually look to union members first when filling jobs, not to the general public.

  •  Whatever work you did that day (art PA, camera PA, etc) is what that day counts towards.

Industry folks working in Virginia or Maryland would be in the IATSE Local 487 (https://iatse487.org/MidAtlantic/).

Exceptions would be:

*The DGA & Local 600 (camera) are national Unions as such the bar to get in is much higher and the initiation fee is also much higher.

WHAT’S IN THE IATSE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT FOR FILM INDUSTRY?

LEARN A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO DAY RATES FOR FILM CREW 2021

Oakwood Arts agreement with IATSE


We are excited to announce that Oakwood Arts (OA) has recently entered into a partnership with the Local 487 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) union, recognizing OA as the only official (pre) training program in the state of Virginia for union film and television production. OA and IATSE’s organizational priorities are aligned in acknowledging the importance of increasing employment opportunities for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds in order “to foster a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse workforce in the motion picture industry."

Through this paid internship program, OA will assist IATSE in identifying, training, and eventually placing interns to work in their desired departments with Motion Picture and Television productions throughout Richmond and the region. Participants will be working directly with Union membership as trainers and mentors, participating in IATSE's industry-recognized training programs. Moreover, this partnership ensures that should a production that is working in Virginia under a Union Agreement wish to bring on interns, they will be required to hire individuals who are participating in the OA JET program. Our goal is for each OA/IATSE intern to end their experience with union membership with a clear path into a specific department, success in their training, confidence in their knowledge, and ongoing work in their desired career.