Know What Your Business Agent Can and Can’t Do for You
As a veteran of this office, I’d like to share, from experience, things you should know about the duties, responsibilities, and most importantly the limitations, of any individual sitting in the chair of the Business Agent.
It is important to know what your Business Agent is capable of, and what falls out of their hands to resolve. Keep in mind that there are many issues that my job does not empower me to resolve for members, but that I am able to help with anyway, because of relationships I have developed throughout the years with our local producers and the studio labor relations reps.
However, let’s talk about what a BA can do, and what they just can’t do, based on the authority granted by the Constitution and the collective bargaining agreements.
Employer/Employee Issues
A Business Agent can and SHOULD resolve issues between employers and employees relating to contract violations. If your show doesn’t pay you for your work, that’s a contract violation, and the BA has the authority to force the company to pay you for the time you worked. One thing many members do not understand is that the BA cannot charge production with a contract violation until AFTER the deed has been done.
Example 1
For example, I can’t make sure that you get paid on Friday, even though the contract says that’s when the employer must pay you. What I can do is make sure you get paid, period, and if it doesn’t happen as outlined in the contract, i.e., on Friday, I can file the grievance to make sure the payment does get made.
Example 2
Another example: if the contract says you are entitled to holiday pay for a holiday not worked, and your producer says they aren’t going to pay it, the BA can tell the producer they have to pay it. The BA can explain to the producer until they are blue in the face that they owe it, and they must pay it.
But the BA cannot make the producer put it on the next paycheck when it is due.
When the producer DOESN’T pay it when it is due, then the BA can file a grievance, which would force the producer to adhere to the contract, and therefore pay the holiday. While it makes sense for a BA to step in to ensure the contract is enforced correctly at the time, the Business Agent’s authority to enforce the contract comes through the grievance procedure, and a grievance is only possible after the company has failed to adhere to the terms of the contract.
The BA doesn’t have the power to force employers to do it right the first time.
A Business Agent does not have the authority to resolve employer/employee disputes that are not direct violations of the collective bargaining agreement. Everything from car allowances to kit rentals to cell phone reimbursements – these are all considered to be “above-scale” deals, and the Business Agent is only empowered to enforce the conditions listed in the agreement. There is no leverage from the union’s side to force employers to pay for above-scale terms.
As I mentioned, while the Business Agent’s position does not have the authority to resolve those issues, I have often been able to do so anyway by reaching out directly to the producers or the studio labor relations teams and having a friendly discussion that usually resolves the problem.
Employee-to-employee (or member-to-member) issues
These types of issues are very tough for a Business Agent to resolve because both parties are entitled to fair and equal union representation under the law. Therefore, the BA cannot side with one member in a dispute against another member, as that would result in member discrimination on the part of the BA. Even if one person is a member and the other isn’t, the Business Agent is legally required to represent all employees working under the CBA equally, and therefore could not legally favor the member over the non-member in the issue.
Most of the time, employee-to-employee, or member-to-member issues happen during the course of their workday, and in that case, the Employer has the ultimate authority to resolve the issue, NOT the Business Agent. The authority of the BA begins and ends with the CBA.
It's not that the BA cannot advocate for the members in their work environment, but they are limited by both contractual and legal obligations that forbid them from being able to “solve” issues outside of contract violations. They can’t “make” employers toe the line, and they can’t fight for a condition not met before the Employer does anything wrong.
Contract Bargaining
Like it or not, Local 479 does not have the authority to negotiate our own contract with Employers. That authority lies strictly with the IATSE International representatives and the Motion Picture Department. The Business Agent can make proposals to the IA, the Business Agent can, and should, report to the IA the abuses their members face and help provide solutions to those abuses. But the Business Agent cannot bargain directly with the Employers, and more importantly, a Local Union’s Business Agent cannot break the confidentiality of the bargaining process set up by the IA and the Employers.
So, what can your BA do to keep you involved in the process?
They can ask for your input to pass onto the IA during the proposal preparations. They can share information about the topics the IA intends to propose. They can report back the outcome of negotiation meetings and what agreements were reached.
But the BA cannot open up that process to their members without the express permission from the IATSE Bargaining Committee. While it may feel like it to members, this is not about a lack of transparency. It isn’t about trying to keep secrets from members about items in the contracts that could affect their jobs and livelihoods. Quite the opposite – this closed negotiation process is about ensuring the success of achieving the gains the members are seeking. You never want to tip your hand in a poker game, and that’s all these negotiations are. The IA plays their cards very close to the vest, and in doing so, ensures that the Employers don’t obtain information we don’t want them to have. The closed negotiations process is about giving our union the best chance to achieve the most success when working to improve and strengthen our positions against the Employers.
On a personal note, regarding the issue of transparency, I want this membership to know that I believe that I have been transparent in all my dealings with members as your Business Agent. My methods may not match up with your idea of information transparency, but I have never purposely or willfully withheld information from any member that sought it out. I do not believe in mass information dumps, because different people interpret information differently, and I believe in making sure that everyone understands all the aspects of a situation. I value honestly above all else and will gladly share anything about our Local or answer any question you have – all you have to do is reach out to me. I encourage you to come down to the office and learn about your Local, learn about your industry; and I am here to help you with all aspects of that process.
Fair Advocacy for All
The most important responsibility of any elected officer of a labor union is to understand that they have been elected to represent every single member, even the ones that did not vote for them. This means that they cannot prioritize their own agendas but must remain open to the will of the majority. They must understand what their members want, and keep in mind that the more members they represent, the more opinions they represent. Whoever sits in the Business Agent’s chair should remember that every member, whether they work on or off production, whether they have been a member for 1 day or for 30 years, whether they are black, brown, green, or purple, is entitled to the same conditions, opportunities, and assistance, but must also be held to the same standards.
