As many of you know, we are approaching the end of our current contract, which means our Business Agent and Chief Negotiator, Rob Larson, is deep into prep for the next round of bargaining. I thought I’d take a minute to walk through the bargaining process here at the DGC BC. It’s been three years since we were in Los Angeles meeting with the Employers, and of course this time the process will look different as we negotiate over Zoom instead of in person.

Planning for negotiation begins as soon as we finish the previous round. From the moment a new contract begins, the Labour team at the DGC BC document any issues that arise from the administration of the contract so they can be addressed in the next round of bargaining. We also document feedback from Members throughout the life of the contract.

The more formal bargaining process is as follows:

Step One: Grassroots!
About a year out from going to the table, the DGC BC arranges Caucus consultations with all five Caucuses we represent (Directors, Production Managers, Assistant Directors, Locations, and Production Assistants) to brainstorm ideas and proposals in a grassroots way: with input from you, the membership. For those who couldn’t attend those sessions in person in January 2020, (remember meeting in person?!) we also held a Member Mixer open to all Members and Permittee Logbook Holders in February to gather more ideas, and encouraged Members to send their thoughts to us via email as well. All ideas go on the long list of brainstormed proposals.

Step Two: Negotiating Committee
The Negotiating Committee is formed by our Chair, Allan Harmon. Every Caucus is represented. The current negotiating team has one rep and two alternates (all volunteers) for each Caucus, to ensure someone from every department will be available for when we go to the table. The Negotiating Committee goes through the long list of all ideas garnered from staff, Members, Caucus meetings, emails, phone calls, etc. All ideas are discussed and debated, and the Negotiating Committee then creates a more structured, strategic short list of proposals.

Step Three: The Executive Board
The refined list of proposals is given to the DGC BC Executive Board, your elected representatives. The Board considers not only the short list of proposals, but all the ideas that didn’t make that short list as well. The Board then determines the mandate: the overall negotiating strategy and proposal package that we’ll take to the table.

Step Four: Research and Refine
DGC staff, led by Rob and aided by our legal counsel, research the proposals, gather financial data and statistics, and develop our rationale for each proposal we take to the Employers.

Step Five: Bargaining Begins!
Dates and logistics are worked out, proposals are exchanged with the Employers, and we send our team to bargaining: Rob as Chief Negotiator, the negotiations team with a rep from each Caucus (Director, Production Manager, AD, Locations, PA), our legal team, and other DGC staff as necessary, who all work hard to get the best possible deal. Decisions are made by consensus.

And then we bring that deal to you, the membership. An emailed poll is sent to all Members (Full and Associate), and then the Executive Board chooses to ratify (or not) the negotiated agreement.

While bargaining proposals at this stage are confidential and we can’t discuss specifics, if you have any questions about the process itself, I’d be happy to answer. Give me a call or shoot me an email!

Thanks!
Alexis
ahinde@dgcbc.com