Why We Want A Union
Below are a handful of the top issues that PAs, assistants, and production secretaries have brought up in conversations with organizers.
Wages
Currently, we earn minimum wage or only a couple dollars above it in these roles – even on huge productions. Many PAs/assistants/prod secs have families to support, health issues, and other financial obligations – realities that have been minimized by bosses over the years.
Healthcare
Like many American workers, PAs/assistants/production secretaries typically struggle to maintain consistent and/or good healthcare. Many workers in this nascent union are day-players that hop from production to production, meaning that it is impossible to access employer-provided health insurance coverage.
Guaranteed Turnarounds
PAs/assistants suffer some of the longest hours in the business. As the only nonunion workers on union sets, we have no guaranteed turnarounds.
Structured Pathways
We want every person who joins this industry to have a good idea of how they can achieve their dream. Right now, it’s a common experience that people join and get stuck as a PA or assistant in a department they have little interest in, just to survive. A long-term goal for this union is to build structured pathways with the help of other unions in order to boost people to where they need to be to flourish.
Grievance Procedures
In the event that a PA/assistant/production secretary were to speak up for themselves about wages, hours, safety, they would currently have no real protection or way to fight back against a negligent or antagonistic boss. We want this union to empower folks and give them the confidence to speak because they know there are union reps and shop stewards to back them up (as well as labor lawyers and a union contract).
Dignity and Respect
Many folks in the film business regard PAs as people who know nothing, or who are kids, or who don’t have skill. This is not true. We want recognition for our work as the information highway of film and TV productions.
The Goal: A Union & A Contract
PAs United is a national (US) fight for a union. We as Film & TV PAs want a contract with our employers, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, so we can win higher wages, healthcare, and dignity. The only way we will make the changes we want, is if we all take action, together. Fill out the PAU Labor Survey so an organizer can call you to talk about signing a Union Authorization card today.
What is a union & why do they exist?
Simply put, a union is a group of workers that join together to improve their lives, collectively. In U.S. labor law, a union is an organization of two or more workers that collectively bargain with the employer for their common interests, with the result being a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
The reason why forming a union is now a legally-protected right under U.S. federal labor law today is because workers fought & died to better their lives and the lives of their co-workers. The National Labor Relations Act was signed into law in 1935 in order to quell the ongoing war between company owners and the working class.
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Minimum wages, child labor laws, the weekend, the 40-hour work week being standard (in other industries, at least), overtime pay, paid vacation, safety regulations - the list goes on. All of our current labor standards and practices are a result of the actions taken by workers and their families - often at great cost to them.
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Forming a union is not and has never been easy. It requires a dedication and a shared belief in a better future. But, with a good plan, anything is possible. The most conventional path today in the U.S. to building and maintaining collective power together is by achieving legal union recognition.
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