Life Backstage: The BA's Blog

December 3, 2012

 

Brothers and Sisters,
 
Greetings, 
We have a meeting tonight hope to see all of you there. There will be a potluck after the 7pm meeting.
 
Reminder to RSVP with Vicki for the December 10th party at Ovens. We need your numbers for catering.
 
Also everyone if you received an open enrollment form from IATSE National Benefits office get that returned by December 17th.  Take advantage of the benefits you work hard for.
 
In Solidarity,
 
Bo Howard 
Business Agent 

November 4, 2012

 

 

 

Brothers and Sisters,   
    
       
    
   This week the country faces a big decision in the Election of the President. All of you as citizens stand alone in the polling booth while you cast your ballot for the future of this country.   
    
   Please if you have not voted early please get out there on Tuesday and Vote. If you are stuck and say it's like choosing between Coke or Pepsi, these candidates came from somewhere. The smaller local elections in your states, counties, and cities are the elections that truly matter. Those are the elections that shape your everyday life. Please have your voice heard in the local elections.    
    
       
    
   As for the my vote doesn't matter problems, North Carolina went democrat by 14,177 votes in 2008. out of the 4.27 million voters that is it. The margin of difference between republican and democrat was .3%. Your Vote Matters.   
    
       
    
   Please do you part. I know a ton of you are working, but stop on the way in.    
    
       
    
   Now on to the Local. Our first yellow card show at the Belk of the Broadway season roles into town this week, Please take notes on how the new contract changes effect your job and the workplace. We want to strive for better conditions for our members, but without written input from our members that can not happen.   
    
       
    
   Last week we had our first meeting of Steward's and BPA house staff to make sure everyone understood the contract and the changes in it, we have 2 more meetings scheduled by the end of the month.   
    
       
    
   I am looking at scheduling a negotiating team meeting on the 13th. At that meeting we will discuss our non contracted Terms and conditions for the new year, we may see some changes coming that way. 
       
    
   Be safe and smart out there in the field, and continue to have fun,   
    
       
    
   In Solidarity,    
    
     
 
Bo Howard 
Business Agent 
I.A.T.S.E. #322 

October 30, 2012

Brothers and Sisters,
 
I want to thank Sister Carter and Sister Propst for their Bannering effort today. We need people to banner everyday. It just takes a few hours of your time, to pitch in and help out.
Please contact either the Call Steward or myself and let us know you want to help out. Together we have strength in numbers.
 
 With out the hard work of all of you our ability to grow our work load would not be possible.
 
We continue to add new workers to our ranks and I hope they can grow into good stagehands and future members. Remember if you see someone new in line near the truck introduce yourself and take a few minutes through out the day working with them and getting to know them, we are all in this together and we are all a team.
 
In Solidarity
 
Bo Howard 
Business Agent 
I.A.T.S.E. #322 

October 23, 2012

 

 

There is an AFL-CIO Labor walk on Saturday please check with the Sister Howard for any info.
 
The Young Worker's was a great experience and for those of us that went it was a great opportunity to learn how we can become more active in our Local and within our International.
 
The Labor fight in this country is not just in our backyard it is all across the nation and if we do not STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK! through Bannering, Labor walks and getting active our strength in unity will become more diminished.
 
The international has asked me to take this message back to our Local. 3 Hours.
Give what you can to be active.  Three hours a week or thre hours a Month, just spend some time being active.
Go to  http://bannerforgood.com/ and sign up, this is a website created by our International to keep our members up to date on the campaigns going on.
Sign Up, and do what you can, if it is a Call for Action, a facebook post or a tweet. That is a sort of Activisim and you can help the International and other locals by being involved.
 
Reminder the AFL-CIO of North Carolina is in using our offices and needs volunteers for phone banking of other IATSE members in the state to remind them how important the election is, print flyers, take elderly to the polls any thing you can do to help out would be great.
 
Make sure you Vote. 
 
In Solidarity
 
Bo Howard 
Business Agent 

September 15, 2012

 

A Note on the Democratic National Convention

 

First, I want to thank everyone who helped to make the 2012 Democratic National Convention a huge success.   Without the hard work, long hours and great attitudes of our 89 members, 150 regular referrals and the Brothers and Sisters who came in from all over the country to work, none of this could have been possible.   Thank you.

 

For over 23 days we averaged almost 200 people working each day with our highest day topping out at almost 400 people in the field.  For the three days of the event and the weekend leading up to it, we worked over 300 people every day.

 

We successfully staffed:

 

·         The DNC Main Events at Time Warner Cable Arena and Bank of America Stadium working under a contract with RK Productions.

 

·         Through a hard won contract with Hargrove, we did all of the decorating and freight work at the Arena, the Stadium and the Charlotte Convention Center.

 

·         The PBS Newshour Studio in the Arena.

 

·         Carolina Fest, a two stage festival in the heart of Uptown, presented by the DNCC through a partnership with locally owned Quality Production Enterprises owner Lupe Rodriguez and JHE Productions.

 

We staffed many other events and after parties at the EpiCenter, the Charlotte Convention Center, The Music Factory, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Ovens Auditorium and Blumenthal Performing Arts center. Working with CRVA, Total Event Production, Hargrove, Paragon Productions, Live Nation Worldwide, Blumenthal Performing Arts, Go Productions, and Staged Right.

 

We worked in cooperation with Goodwill Industries to put almost 35 unemployed Charlotte residents on the jobsite.

 

We would like to specifically recognize and thank all the IATSE Locals that were represented on the show floor here in Charlotte. I apologize if I have over looked any of the great Locals that assisted in this endeavor.  I appreciate all of you for coming to Charlotte to make this possible.

 

 

 

322 Charlotte, NC

417 Raleigh, NC

278 Asheville, NC

574 Greensboro, NC

635 Winston-Salem, NC

347 Columbia, SC

140 Chattanooga, TN

197 Knoxville, TN

60  Pensacola, FL

412 Sarasota, FL

500 South Florida

320 Savannah, GA

629 Augusta, GA

55  Roanoke, VA

824 Athens, GA

927 Atlanta, GA

720 Las Vegas, NV

55 Roanoke, VA

423 Albuquerque, NM

15 Seattle, WA

900 Huntsville, AL

491 Studio Mechanics of the Carolinas and Savannah, GA

 

 

I want to thank all of our Stewards and department heads, both the seasoned and the untried, for being true leaders on the show floor and bearing themselves in an exemplary manner.

 

I want to thank the Alliance for sending Father David Garretson, who offered sage advice and guidance to the Local.

 

I want to thank the staff in the office:  our dispatchers, coordinators, and Financial Secretary for the long hours they diligently put in to make this event go as smoothly as possible.  And of course, to make sure everyone got paid!

 

I thank the Executive Board and membership of Local #322 for their support through all of this.

 

This has truly been an amazing experience for the City of Charlotte, State of North Carolina and I.A.T.S.E. Local #322.  Thank you all, I am very grateful.

 

 

Fraternally,

Bo Howard

Business Agent

I.A.T.S.E. Local #322