IATSE Question

[Jmorrison102]

I'm a student attending college right out side of dc. I've worked over hire in the city for some time now and have been wanting to join the dc chapter of the IATSE(local 22) for some time now but i have some questions. When first joining I will put in the d list call sheet for about 6 months. I was wondering how often a person on the d list gets a job call and typically what is the hourly wage these jobs pay.
I would really like to hear from people in the local 22 or other chapters

 

[porkchop]

Welcome to the booth. Stop by the New Members Forum and introduce yourself.

As a general rule IATSE call lists go local members, members from other locals, then overhire. So if your getting calls now as an overhire worker joining should bump you up noticeably. I'm not very familiar with north east IATSE politics, but I know out west it's pretty normal for there to be a good number of people on the call list from other locals.

Furthermore, in my experience yearly dues are not outrageous (initiation fee can sometimes be a rough one, but you only pay that once). If you have a chance to join, you really want to be a stagehand for a living, and you don't have a gig from a non-union company, it's probably in you interest to join. There are a lot of good opportunities that being an IATSE member can help you with. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.

 

[rochem]

I went through a similar situation about a year ago, albeit with a much smaller local than local 22. I made the decision to join, and it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made. I've never worked with local 22 directly, but I know a number of people who came up through 22, and from what I hear from them, 22 is a great local. The only thing I'd caution you is to make sure you can make the long-term commitment. Dues can be very expensive (I don't know what the quarterly dues for Local 22 are like), and the initiation fee can be really hard to swallow, but once you've taken the plunge, you need to pay them, even if you're not working at all. If you get behind on your dues and then try to work again a few years down the road, they ARE going to turn around and charge you every cent of back dues you never paid - and that can easily be in the tens of thousands, depending on how long you were gone. Accept that you will be paying initiation and quarterly dues from the moment you sign your name on the card, and make sure you're are financially sound enough to make that decision.

Also think about how much free time you have available at college. In most locals, your placement on the lists is determined not only by your seniority and skill level, but also by how many calls you accept or decline. Generally, every time you work a call you get bumped up, and every time you need to turn one down you get demoted. If your school is keeping you busy all the time, including weekends, and you can't afford to take off multiple days to work, it might be in your best interests to wait until you won't be shooting yourself in the foot as much. It would be horrible to get out of college and then find out that you've dug yourself into a hole where you are so low on the ladder that you're not getting any calls.

Honestly, every fiber of my being is telling me to say that you should dive in headfirst, and not look back! It is a fantastic opportunity, and I know MANY local 22 guys who are here working successfully in New York. If this is a "take it or leave it" thing, then go sell your car, go auction off your kidneys, do whatever you need to do to get the initiation and dues money so you can join. If this is a standing offer that will effectively never expire, however, you may want to consider waiting a year or two. If IATSE is somewhere you want to go with your career, then don't let this opportunity pass you by!!

 

[shiben]

I'm a student attending college right out side of dc. I've worked over hire in the city for some time now and have been wanting to join the dc chapter of the IATSE(local 22) for some time now but i have some questions. When first joining I will put in the d list call sheet for about 6 months. I was wondering how often a person on the d list gets a job call and typically what is the hourly wage these jobs pay.
I would really like to hear from people in the local 22 or other chapters

Part of it depends what you want to do later. I ended up choosing not to join my local, not because its bad or anything, but because I dont want to stay here in W. Michigan forever, and I might want to do things other than be a technician forever. Also school is a huge conflict, if your program has mandatory show credits, those can often run 20-40 hours a semester per class (a friend of mine had 4 classes for a total of 120 hours of required show credit time over the semester), plus homework in all of those, and 18 hours of credit. They were lucky enough that their school had an arrangement with the local IA so that the students could participate and not drop on the list due to declining calls for school reasons... Just make sure you think through every aspect about it if your going to do it, because as was mentioned earlier, just letting your dues lapse can nail you for a couple thousand bucks later... that would not be fun.

 

[mstaylor]

22 is an excellent local, I have D listed with them for years but I am not available enough to move up. Don't join if you aren't going to be able to work much because it is an expensive local. It is one of the better paying ones so it costs more to belong. What you do is call the work line on Sunday nights and give them your availability for the week. If you say you can work, theyexpect you to work if called. If something changes during the week, call to change when you can work. Obviously the more available, the more calls you will get. There are test to take for C,B and A lists. Pay depends on venue, the DC Convention Center pays more than Verizon, for example. Theatres have good contracts also.
Whether to join is a personal choice, timing is even more important. Depending on where you are going to school, Grid Monkie/Stage Monkie does a lot of work in northern VA.