RIGHT TO WORK?
by Joshua Melville
The National Labor Relations Act requires producers to negotiate with unions as a matter of law. But much like other national laws, there are provisions within it that can be adopted or ignored on a state by state basis. One such provision is the "Right To Work." Armed with these words many filmmakers have recently packed their trucks and headed out of N.Y. and California in hopes of finding cheaper labor on the road. For many, the assumption has been that a right-to-work state meant "non-union." But the reality is a bit more complex as several films found out when they were forced by labor disputes to shut down in the middle of production.
What is a right-to-work state? My search for clarity on this confusing aspect of labor law brought me to Miami, the most cinematically prolific right-to-work town in the U.S. Miami attorney Joe Flemming has been negotiating labor contracts for over 15 years. He explains: "A right-to-work state is a state in which you do not have to join a union as a condition of employment. It does not mean that a union cannot organize a company, and it doesn't mean that if a union does organize, you don't have to bargain. What it means is that when you bargain with the union and [some of your workers] are not union, your employees have the right to refrain from joining and cannot be incriminated. In a non-right-to-work state the union can require that they be terminated."
On the surface, this would seem to imply that producers can mix union and non-union technicians any way they like. This would be a dream if it actually worked out that way. Here's the caveat: once a producer enters into a collective bargaining agreement with I.A., SAG or the Teamsters, all the above becomes irrelevant. One union member on your crew can sound the "organizer" alarm. So why not avoid all the mess and go to a right-to-work state and hire all non-union people for your project? Easier said than done.
Rick Sacco, a Miami-based production manager explains, "You cannot do a non-union show around here no matter how you try. Because you cannot find a non-union dolly grip or gaffer who's got any experience." Other producers have found that crews in right-to-work states seek a median wage much more so than in the production centers. Without expensive commercial bread-and-butter work around the corner, crews are reluctant to sign on to a $100 a day no-budget feature. John Reitzhammer, president of the FL24/7, the Florida Film Office proclaims, "No one ever said the right to work means the right to work cheap."
But there are contrasting opinions. Former distributor Paul Cohen relocated to Miami several years ago to be part of its growing film industry. He comments, "This whole statement is just ridiculous. I mean, there are [non-union] people here who work all the time who are excellent."
The debate over whether right-to-work is of ultimate benefit will rage on with very little agreement on either side of the negotiating table. One thing both unions and producers seem to agree on is that it's a sword that cuts both ways. Currently there are 22 states that have adopted the "right-to-work" provision into their constitution.
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