 |
 |
Balloting Concludes For Unionization June 24, 2005 Casting directors in the movie industry will soon know if they will become Teamsters. The voting process to decide on affiliation ended on June 22, with results due to be announced shortly. On May 25, more than 300 ballots were sent to eligible casting directors by the National Labor Relations Board {NLRB). According to Gary Zuckerbrod—a leader in the unionization effort—there has been an excellent response from the casting directors who are eligible to vote in the election. He also noted that there has been no intimidation by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which had opposed the organizing efforts. “The process was run fairly. There was no intimidation or negative campaigning,” Zuckerbrod said. "Actually, there was no campaigning by the other side, and there was none by the casting directors." Through emails and flyers, the committee heading up the organizing efforts did encourage all directors eligible to vote to participate in the election. The committee also emphasized that casting directors, who were currently ineligible to vote, could still join the union if the outcome of the election called for affiliation. One message, sent out in all capital letters, was very specific: "To be clear: Even if you do not vote in this election, you can still join the union.” Throughout their unionizing efforts, the casting directors have emphasized their desire for health and pension benefits, which they currently don't receive. The workers have also called for the other protections that come with collective bargaining, including minimum wages and basic working conditions. |
 |
|
 |
