UNION MYTHBUSTER
1. What is the main benefit to joining a union?
You are investing with fellow VFX professionals in order to take advantage of pre-existing legal processes that are meant to help us establish and maintain a UK VFX industry that is a sustainable long term career choice, including advancing us towards a seat at the table as this industry inevitably evolves.
2. Will members benefit from any immediate results after joining the union?
You are investing with fellow VFX professionals in order to take advantage of pre-existing legal processes that are meant to help us establish and maintain a UK VFX industry that is a sustainable long term career choice, including advancing us towards a seat at the table as this industry inevitably evolves.
3. Once a union has been assembled, how quickly will union members experience actual change?
Achieving union 'recognition' at a given VFX studio means that we are a collective bargaining unit. A collective bargaining unit is legally allowed to immediately negotiate with the VFX studio on any terms that we as a group can democratically agree on, for example if we agreed on it, we could immediately negotiate with the studio that all contracts shorter than 6 months receive higher rates.
4. Does being in a union mean that there are strict rules as to what artists can be paid (i.e. are there any caps on pay for certain roles)
No. The only strict rules are that any terms that we as a group can democratically agree on, are terms that we can then have BECTU negotiate for us with the studio. A strict pay cap or the like could only ever be instituted if a majority of the workforce voted in favour of it.
5. Might a union enforce strikes on the workers, potentially alienating the artists from the studios?
Strikes are the last port of call, and the UK government has made them increasingly difficult to organise at this point. It is highly unlikely to that we would ever have a strike, and again this would only come about if the majority of workers agreed to this course of action. That being said, strikes are still an important tool and source of power for all trade unions, so while highly unlikely these are not something we inherently rule out as they give teeth to our position at the negotiation table.
6. If we succeed in getting paid for overtime, this would make the work more expensive. Might this put off production companies from coming to the UK instead of opting for other countries?
It's actually not true that the work would be more expensive if there were paid overtime, because there are numerous studies (eyes wide shut?) that show strong evidence for a more productive workforce when the number of hours in the workday are reduced.
Having paid overtime would also ensure the enforcement of mandatory consequences in the face of poor planning on behalf of production and management, creating strong motivational factors for improved planning and accountability for the way projects are run.
Lastly, you need only to look at countries where paid overtime is required by law, for example Canada, for proof that large numbers of VFX studios can operate successfully with paid overtime.
7. VFX is mainly computer-based work, so is there a higher chance that the VFX union would move to a different country because it's "more transportable" than other areas of the industry?
A union will not change the fact that work may or may not get outsourced overseas. The outsourcing of work will inevitably happen no matter whether we have a union or not, as the development of automation and/or the growing ability for overseas markets to take on the execution of more kinds of VFX tasks is not contingent on unionisation.
The existence of a union actually provides the opportunity for the UK VFX industry to be have a healthier workforce if we can achieve more sustainable working hours. A healthier UK workforce will ultimately be more capable of competing at a higher level than an over-worked overseas workforce, creating an added value for having VFX work done in the UK.
8. How much of a say do the union members have in the decisions taken by the union? For example, would there be a democracy-based decision making process?
Yes, union decisions are made democratically. Additionally, the general workforce at a given UK VFX studio currently enjoys far less of a say in the decisions that affect their work life balance, while a union would provide the general workforce with an actual seat at the table.