IATSE Executive Board!

I've been in Boston attending our Mother International's executive board meeting. Among the highlights:

* The Mother International is organizing an increasing number of reality shows.

* The Mother International has pretty much blanketed all the high and low-budget features that are out there; the difficult ones to cover are theatrical features budgeted at $250,000 and thereabouts, sine they don't have much money for higher wages and benefits.

* The Mother International is organizing an increasing number of technicians and camera crews for sports on cable.

And the Mother International talked about the current health of the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan ...

The MPIPHP

1) $7.2 billion in total assets

2) 8.1% return on investments (past ten years)

3) 7.8 million contribution hours past year.

4) Active Health Plan outlays -- $10,400 per participant (annual)

5) $13 million more in residuals into Plan ($400 million past year)

6) Pension Assets in "green zone." (highest federal rating)

7) 19 months or reserves for Health Plan (active) participants.