Local 695 not only represents you and your family at the bargaining table and in the workplace, but in matters that support and protect your family. The CIC (California IATSE Council) lobbies at the state and local level, and the IATSE PAC works for you on the national level in Washington DC. The work that the CIC did in Sacramento was key in pushing through AB1839, the Film Tax Incentive bill, aimed at retaining and attracting production jobs and economic activity throughout the state. The three-year bill grants three hundred thirty million dollars ($330,000,000) in credits for the 2016–17 fiscal year and each fiscal year through 2020. AB1839 has already created over 22,700 behind-the–camera jobs in California with $1.78 billon in qualified wages and another $1.47 billion spent on California businesses. With AB1839 in place, California motion picture and television employment increased 12.38% between 2015 and 2016. That’s great news but if we do nothing, the program and the work that comes with it will end. That’s why we are already working on a campaign to extend the program and work towards gaining improvements and additional funding. When we kick off the campaign to renew AB1839, Local 695 will be asking you all to get involved to help keep production in the state. The CIC was also a leader on bill SB17, “Transparency in Drug Pricing.” SB17 provides sixty days’ advance notice before changes can be made to prescription drug prices when the cumulative increase over the prior two years is more than 10%. This advance notice goes to both public and private purchasers, including CaLPERS, Medi-Cal, Corrections, health plans, insurers, pharmacy benefits managers and plans like our Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan (MPIPHP.) Looking at the cumulative price increases over the prior two years creates an incentive for prescription prices to fall below 10%. This helps keep the costs down on prescription drugs, which represents a very significant expense for our health plan. Reduced prescription prices means more resources become available to provide our families with essential health services.
Your union is always working to make you and your family’s life better and safer. Union = Family. We wish you and your family all the best this holiday season. If you would like to support our efforts in Washington, DC, sign up for the monthly IATSE PAC donation at http:// www.iatse.net/ get-involved/con tribute. Just $5 or $10 a month grows very big when we all join in and it can make all the difference when we have an issue that supports American working women and men seeking a fair wage and a safe place to work.
Fraternally,
Scott Bernard
scottb@local695.com
Business Representative