Why the YES Vote Matters – An IATSE Member Tells Her Story

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">IATSE voted 99% YES to authorize a strike.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And because union negotiations can be reduced to just that... “negotiations,” it was important to us on the show to put the focus on exactly what we are actually talking about here: Human beings’ well-being on set and in life.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, on this episode of Brian Breaks Character my guest is IATSE crew member Heather Fink. She works as a Boom Operator and Sound Utility and she joined me not as a formal representative of IATSE, but as a human being in the industry. In this intimate conversation, Heather openly shares her real-life experience as a “below the line” creative as we stare down this strike.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">IATSE is asking for better pay for streaming-service work; higher wages for coordinators and assistants on all productions; longer rest periods between shifts and on weekends; and strengthened requirements for meal breaks during marathon shoots.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So to be clear, it’s not about pointing at “one bad person” it’s about revolutionizing an industry that can too often make *the bottom line* more important than human experience.</span><span style= "font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style= "font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style= "font-weight: 400;">WHICH IS LITERALLY INSANE SINCE FILM AND TV-MAKING IS STORYTELLING … and storytelling EXISTS to connect us as humans.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode, I put on my novice hat so I could ask Heather ALLLL the questions you might need to know about WHY this is so important and you’ll learn precisely WHY as a fellow creative you’ll want to take a stand with IATSE.</span><span style= "font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style= "font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style= "font-weight: 400;">This episode is dedicated to all the members of IATSE. We stand with humanizing this business. We stand wi