2013General Discussion forum
Union rules for working as a local in multiple cities and preventing wage undercutting
13 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
DisputedParticipants disagreed and reached no conclusion. Read the findings as positions, not as an answer.
What the thread found
- Union agreements prohibit operators from traveling to distant cities at their own expense and working as locals outside their designated production city, as this violates residency rules designed to protect employment opportunities and wages in each region.
- When a producer asks a non-local operator to work without travel expenses instead of hiring the designated local operator, it constitutes an attempt to circumvent collectively bargained agreements and undercut standard rates.
- An operator working in violation of union residency rules can face substantial fines determined by a trial board, with penalties reflecting the severity of the violation and the earnings made from the violation.
- Using a mail forwarding address or post office box in another city to falsely claim local residence while actually living elsewhere violates union bylaws and can result in expulsion.
- Production companies sometimes exploit these situations by having multiple subsidiary companies, some union and some non-union, to avoid triggering union requirements for traveling technicians.
- If a union job involves even one signatory production company, union rules may apply to all related production companies involved in the project.
Depends on
- Specific details about how the production city policy works in practice vary by region and some details about distance limits and exceptions were discussed but not definitively confirmed.
- Some operators have found ways to work around the rules by listing addresses in smaller towns between major production cities, creating ambiguity about enforcement.
- The effectiveness of union enforcement depends on members reporting violations, and enforcement may be delayed or ineffective if violations go unreported until production is complete.
- Discussion participants disagreed about specific technical details of the rule, particularly regarding whether certain geographic areas constitute exceptions to production city restrictions.