Our Angeleno summer is heating up, and just like that, a whole new season is upon us. Rest assured there’s plenty new here at Local 47 beyond soaring temperatures!
As I write this, we are about to launch “E2,” our long-awaited new database system. E2 is more than just a database; it is the breathing heart and soul of all of our work here at the Local, from membership communications and payments to job processing to mailings and more. The process of designing the system began before my tenure as Vice President, but I have been in charge of the development. And yes, that means that any frustrations you may have should be sent my way. 🙂
The new member portal requires every musician to re-register, and we’re sending plenty of information out about how to do so. Once in, you should be able to finally get a more accurate and up-to-the-minute view of your work history and both past and upcoming payments.
This completely new cloud-based system is far more secure and efficient than our long-standing reliance on in-house hardware and software. We’ll be working through the kinks and hiccups over the next few months, so please give us plenty of feedback, but also please grace us with your patience!
Exciting news: The first projects that will be subject to the new high budget streaming residual are starting to come in for Local 47 musicians! “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” season 3 led the way, followed by “Swiped,” an upcoming feature film for streaming, and more. The new contract calls for a 26-week free streaming window, so the residuals should start flowing in 2025, but we are on our way. Great congratulations to every single musician who participated in the Fair Share for Musicians campaign and helped kick the door open to an industry standard that had been denied us for so many years.
The next step is to reel back the runaway production that sees scores sent overseas on a regular basis. IATSE, Teamsters 399, LiUNA and others are already calling for increasing the California Film/TV Tax Credit, which currently stands at $330 million annually. This is dwarfed by others; New York will spend over $700 million this year, Georgia $1.35 billion, and over a billion from British Columbia. We need our tax dollars to support our music scoring jobs, and we need for California to get back in the game.
Heading into summer, we have been working with an AFM-led steering committee to develop a strong campaign for the Live TV/Videotape negotiations, set for this fall. The first round is tentatively scheduled for early September, and we will be rolling out a multi-city survey, and using new technology to expand our Contract Action Team communications webs. Beginning later this month, you will be hearing much more — stay tuned!
Finally, our next General Membership Meeting will be held Monday, July 22, at 7:30 p.m. This is your chance to get in-depth information about our Local and our activities, ask questions, and hang with your colleagues. Your participation makes us all stronger!
Previous: President’s Report | Next: Secretary/Treasurer’s Report
