Skip to main content

Good Jobs Provide Good Benefits

Represented stagehands receive benefits through Employer Contributions, typically above and beyond hourly wages.


The IATSE National Benefit Funds are multi-employer, Taft-Hartley trust funds established by the IATSE through collective bargaining with various entertainment industry employers. Generally, funding comes from contributing employers that are engaged in industries such as live theatre, motion picture, television, commercials, music videos, and trade shows and that have Collective Bargaining Agreements with IATSE or an affiliated local union.
The Funds are governed by Boards of Trustees made up of an equal number of representatives of the IATSE (labor) and the employers (management). The IATSE National Benefit Funds include the Pension, Annuity, Health & Welfare, and Vacation Funds. Employees and employers participate in one or more Funds, depending on the terms of their Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

What makes multi-employer benefit funds so appealing is they allow small businesses to make fair contributions to their employees health and welfare without breaking the bank. Many hands make light work. The costs are shared and the risks are pooled. Therefore multi-employer plans typically provide a competitive benefit for the same or better rate when compared to a single employer health plan.

For the employee, who may work for many different employers in a calendar year, the multi-employer plan is the answer for portable healthcare. Employees can move among participating employers without losing coverage.

Stagehands have been at the forefront of the "gig economy" for some time. Having good benefits that address the transient nature of this employment is critical for a healthy life-style.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Letter from Local 8 President Barnes

To the Wilma Theater Stagehands, Welcome! The membership of the IATSE Local 8 look forward to you and your co-workers at the Wilma Theater joining the largest union of theatrical technicians in the United States and Canada. Many of your brother and sisters working in regional theater companies are already part of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Being part of a larger community makes everyone stronger, safer and better represented at our places of employment. To that end the IATSE Local 8 filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to recognize your union. In four weeks there will be an election and the opportunity to formally join other stage employees in community. Today of all days, we need this stagehand community. As the GOP attacks health care, we negotiate coverage in our contracts; as Republicans eliminate social security, we negotiate retirement plans; as Trump defunds OSHA and the NEA, we negotiate safety at our worksites and fi

WHAT CAN THE IATSE DO FOR YOU?

WHAT CAN THE IATSE DO FOR YOU? Negotiate a contract that is legally binding and spells out your working conditions and rights. Without a contract, your employer can change your wages and working conditions at any time. Provide job security by ensuring due process in the event your employer seeks to discipline or fire you. Ensure a safe work environment. Provide training to upgrade skills and master new technologies. Improve your wages. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers represented by unions earn higher wages than their non-union counterparts in virtually every category of employment. Provide for health insurance and retirement security. BLS studies also confirm that union-represented employees are more likely to receive health and retirement benefits from their employer.