ENTERTAINMENT UNION COALITION (EUC) LAUNCHES OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN TO RECOVER CALIFORNIA ENTERTAINMENT JOBS, SENATOR DE LEON AND ASSEMBLY MEMBERS BOCANEGRA AND GATTO TO JOIN
Entertainment workers send a clear message that California needs to stop the loss of strong middle class jobs.
LOS ANGELES, CA—Today the Entertainment Union Coalition (EUC), a coalition of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts (IATSE), Teamsters Union, and other entertainment unions and guilds, will launch their campaign to recover California entertainment jobs by publically pledging their support for the Campaign to Recover California Entertainment Jobs. Introduced as Assembly Bill 1839, joint-authors Assembly Members Raul Bocanegra (D‐Pacoima) and Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) will be joined by Senator Kevin de León to support the EUC in their official launch.
With over 500 members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts (IATSE) and the Teamsters Union, along with affiliated unions of the EUC and Elected Officials, the rally will lay the foundation to increase film and television production in California while providing a stable environment for entertainment workers and their families. Members of the EUC plan to lay the blue print to urge California State Legislature to pass AB 1839.
With the passage of AB 1839 set to overhaul the state's current $100 million Film and TV Tax Credit program, the EUC hopes it will decrease the massive loss of critical middle class entertainment jobs in California while incentivizing blockbuster-scale pictures and network shows to film locally. In addition, the loss of TV and motion picture production in California has lead to much difficulty for the entertainment workers to provide a stable environment for their families.
"Until recently, I made my living for 10 years working in California. It is my home, and the place I would like to one day raise my family. Due to tax incentives in other states, I've been working in those other states 6-10 months at a time over the past 3- 4 years," said Set Lighting Technician, Phil Abeyta. "This separation from my home has had a negative effect on my life. Imagine yourself not being able to return home for 10 months, the strain on your relationships, both personal and professional."
"In the last 5 years, I have not spent more than 3 months at a time at my home in Los Angeles. I constantly lived out of hotels and temporary apartments," said production accountant Sharon Craig. "It has taken a real toll on my family and personal life."
"The current tax incentives in California have been helpful but they don't go far enough. People who have made their living in the entertainment industry for decades have been forced seek work away from home in the states that offer great incentives," said President of the Entertainment Union Coalition Thom Davis. "It has caused a great burden on their families and quite frankly, it just isn't right to expect families to be torn apart like that. The EUC will continue to bring those jobs back home, where they belong."
