VES “Understanding Unions…” panel announced

The Visual Effects Society (VES) today announced a panel titled “Understanding Unions: The Good, The Bad & Unknown Of Forming A Visual Effects Collective Bargaining Organization”. This event will take place on Saturday, December 1, 2012 from 9:30AM to 12:00PM at the Los Angeles Film School Theater.

For full bios of participants and the signup link, see the bottom of this post.

Understanding Unions: The Good, The Bad & Unknown Of Forming A Visual Effects Collective Bargaining Organization

Visual Effects remains one of the few segments of the North American entertainment industry that is not unionized. There has been a lot of discussion on this across the industry on both sides of the issue. The Visual Effects Society is providing an opportunity to find out first-hand what is real and what is false about the idea of what a union and collective bargaining agreement can and cannot do.

Join us on Saturday, December 1, 2012, 9:30AM to 12:00PM at the L.A. Film School, as VES presents a panel of industry leaders who have varying opinions on the topic, providing a balanced perspective to attendees.

Topics under consideration include:
Would the formation of a union better the lot of the VFX worker and the status and health of VFX companies in North America?
Is the union an unwieldy structure that would create additional burdens on North American companies and workers in the face of increasing global competition?
How would the formation of a union affect run-away production?
Can a union supply better and more cost effective health and pension coverage than a VFX company?
Will the producers accept the union as the VFX collective bargaining unit?
Will a union regulate work hours better?
What does a union really do?

Join us on December 1 as six industry leaders discuss these important issues.

Panelists:
– Scott Dougherty – Executive Producer / Co-Owner, Furious FX, Inc.
– Steven J Kaplan – Organizer for The Animation Guild, Local 839 IATSE
– John Parentau – General Manager, Pixomondo L.A.
– Ellen Shadur – Attorney at Baker Hostetler
– Bill Taylor, ASC, VES

Moderated by
– Marty Shindler – CEO,The Shindler Perspective

Saturday, December 1, 2012 from 9:30AM to 12:00PM
Los Angeles Film School Theater
6363 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028

For complete bios of panelists and to signup:
www.visualeffectssociety.com/date/event-understanding-unions-los-angeles