VES: Understanding Unions

Tomorrow, the VES is hosting a panel discussion that aims to review the pros and cons of the formation of a union for visual effects artists. The event will be held at the Los Angeles Film School theater and begin at 9:30am. This is from their announcement of the event:

Visual Effects remains one of the few segments of the North American entertainment industry that is not unionized. There has been a lot of discussion on this across the industry on both sides of the issue. The Visual Effects Society is providing an opportunity to find out first-hand what is real and what is false about the idea of what a union and collective bargaining agreement can and cannot do.

As the Guild's Organizer, I was asked to participate in the discussion as the "union voice". The event is open to all who wish to attend but registration is required to get an accurate count of attendees. If you wish to attend, please fill out the form on the bottom of the VES page linked above.

Others on the panel are: Scott Dougherty and John Parenteau who will be voicing the concerns of non-union visual effects shops, Bill Taylor, having owned and operated a union visual effects shop, will offer a pro-union perspective, and Ellen Shadur,an attorney for Baker Hostetler (a lawfirm specializing in representing employers in collective bargaining) who will bring counter-point on any legal matters that I discuss.

The discussion is being moderated by Marty Shindler, whose experience in the entertainment industry will be paramount in moving the discussion forward and keeping it on schedule.

I fully expect a lively and respectful conversation. I hope anyone who is interested in this topic will make the time to attend.