by Casey Weiss
LA IS A UNION TOWN: May Day March
On Friday, May 1, in honor of International Workers Day, also known as May Day, hundreds of union members and kin marched through the streets of Downtown Los Angeles. The crowd was full of creative displays of union artistry from handcrafted puppets, totems, and banners to mobile bands playing along the roughly three-mile route. IATSE was represented by the many members proudly wearing their union gear and displaying their signage. LA is and will always be a union town!
Report Your Work
As the improved tax incentive credits begin to increase entertainment work in California, it is more crucial than ever for workers to report their jobs. Whether signatory or nonunion, reporting your work helps us understand production trends and identify opportunities for organizing, which then supports the Motion Picture Health and Pension Plan. It is easy to report your work online: https://www.local695.com/membership-services/job-repor ting/
IATSE Training Trust Fund: Safety First! Webinars
Biweekly and completely free webinars are available to all IATSE workers through the IATSE Training Trust Fund. Topics range from Basic Entertainment Safety, Sets Utilizing SFX and Fog Effects, Biological Hazards, and more. Keep yourself and your fellow crew members safer on set by checking out upcoming webinars at:
https://www.iatsetrainingtrust.org/webinars
OLD FRIENDS
Second row: Alenka Pavlin, Misty Coen, Glenn Berkovitiz, Mychal Smith,
Tim Song Jones, Andy Adams, Natasha Fagan.
Third row: Johnny Evans, Andy Rovins, Kevin Becker, Eric Alstad, Gunnar Walter, Rob Cunningham, Patrick Martins, David Raymond, Michael Primmer, Mitchell Gebhard, Rebecca Chan, Tanya Peel, Rie Nasu, Yvette Marxer, Nick Allen, Veronica Kahn, Eva Rismanforoursh, Frederick Weinberg, Richard Novick, Todd Bassman, Roger Stevenson, Randy Johnson, Scott Solan, Tom Hartig. Others in attendance, but not in the photo: Doug Shamberger, Jonathon Fu, Rocky Quiroz, Steve Morantz, and Joe Turrentine
On March 15, Randy Johnson writes that the H.O.B.O.S. (Hollywood Old Boom Operators), a random group of friends and working partnerships over many years, got together. There was no agenda beyond relating some favorite stories with hugs and hardy hand clasps. It was special to me and heartening to reaffirm how many great people there are in this business of ours.
New Members
Local 695 Welcomes its New Members
Jacquelyn Andrade Y-7
Kevin Erpenbach Y-16
Fiona Gay Y-1
Wesley Harris A-2
Francisco Hinojosa Y-7a
Andrew Huigens Y-6
Hunter Jackson Y-7
Pearce Lawrence Y-16a
Brian Nowac Y-4
Matthew Ortiz Y-16
Steven Ricks Projectionist
Shorif Suhel Y-16a
Arthur Tran Y-16a
IN MEMORIAM
LARRY A. LASOTA – Y-1
March 21, 1949 – May 2, 2026
WILLIAM JOEL PARSONS – Y-16
May 9, 1971 – April 20, 2026
MICHAEL SEEMAN – Y-7a
July 15, 1944 – April 3, 2026
ANDREW C. STRAUBER – Y-1
April 17, 1952 – February 10, 2026
KIRK H. FRANCIS – Y-1
August 27, 1947 – February 8, 2026
THOMAS D. CAUSEY – Y-1
December 5, 1949 – January 11, 2026
DONALD C. ROGERS – Y-1
May 4, 1931- January 4, 2026