[lbi_inline_note timestamp=”10:26am on April 21, 2015″]iStock No. 35746424[/lbi_inline_note]
Union blues
An internal dispute in the local film industry is pitting Baton Rouge-area stakeholders against their more numerous New Orleans counterparts. At the end of this month, IATSE, the union that represents film industry crews, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will begin negotiations for a new three-year contract. Like the last negotiation in 2012, the producers are expected to ask that Baton Rouge be deemed a “production center” for films. Like last time, Local 478, the branch of IATSE that covers Louisiana and southern Mississippi, is opposed. New Orleans and Shreveport are production centers, while Baton Rouge is not. That means a Local 478 member who keeps a New Orleans address and comes to work in Baton Rouge is guaranteed a $56 per diem, while a Baton Rouge resident who goes to work in New Orleans does not. Patrick Mulhearn, executive director at Baton Rouge’s Celtic Studios, says the current situation puts the Capital Region at a disadvantage when competing with production centers around the country. Local 478 President Phil LoCicero says only about 80 of his 1,300 members are based in Baton Rouge—a figure Mulhearn disputes. Regardless, LoCicero says most of the crew base is in New Orleans, and commuting to and from Baton Rouge after working 12- to 16-hour days isn’t safe, LoCicero says, so a small stipend for housing expenses is helpful and appropriate.
—David Jacobs
