Local 700: To join or not to join?

[srheiss]

Hey everyone. I've been a pretty regular viewer of these forums for the last few moths, and I thought I'd finally get on here and make a post.

I recently fulfilled the requirements to join the Local 700 (sound editor), and am contemplating on whether or not to take the plunge or wait until work presents itself for me.

I am currently working full time at a non union studio that really treats me well, but I also feel confident that I am ready to further my career to the next level and work on union shows. I was just curious about other people's experience on joining the union, and whether it would make it easier to find enough union work to be able to go freelance, or possibly even land a steady job at a union studio. I don't expect for it to be a "golden ticket" that gets me stuff immediately on it's own, but I'm excited about taking this next step and am ready to do a lot of work to make it happen.

Any kind of experiences or advice would be much appreciated, and I'm in Los Angeles to clarify.

[Big Andy]

I joined the union 5 years ago when I was offered a "full time" gig at a major studio in LA. I had that job for about 6 months and then the department fell apart and at that point I became freelance. When all was said and done I have worked less than 10 months of union work in the last 5 years.

Don't join unless you have work lined up and ready to hire you. Make sure you have good relationships with other studios in town that are union just in case you lose the job you started with an need a new one. Try to build great client relationships that will bring you future work that can turn into union work.

The union doesn't really do anything to help you find work. Keep that in mind. Also, keep in mind that MAYBE 5-6 union jobs open up each year. That's why you need to have that job lined up before you join. Dues are expensive if you aren't working a union gig.

On the plus side: the union gives great health and pension to it's members, Pay is very nice and the title can be impressive to some people.

Good luck and happy job hunting!

[PostKID]

Srheiss, I was in your position not to long ago. I had a nice job as an editor at a non-union house and had plenty of hours to go union. I knew in the long run I wanted to work at the union level for many reasons (wages, benefits.....). I had very limited union contacts and couldn't justify dishing out the fee to join without any work lined up. So I looked around for a union shop that had a good reputation, was an enjoyable environment, was known for promoting from within and took a job as a RUNNER. I took a major cut in my wage, and honestly for the first week, my ego. But now I happily make coffee, run around town and watch the many runners before me go about their full time union gigs in the facility, hopefully awaiting for my day to come.

hope that helps and makes sense (its been a long day).

[srheiss]

Thanks for the advice and insight guys. I had been thinking about going the route of getting an entry level position at a union studio and working my way up. It's really pretty amazing how many of those stories I've heard out here, of people starting in the mail room or as a runner, and ended up working their way really high up in a company.

[breaktheory]

You don't have to join until you've worked 30 union days...You're eligible for Union work as soon as you meet your membership requirements and put yourself on the CSTAF roster which is free - they even pay you to take safety courses...the danger is that if you sit on the roster for too long without any union work they'll remove you(there's no official time table for this, I've asked- but it's years not months)

This is where I am right now - on the roster but still waiting on my first union gig.

[Henchman]

Get the entire application out of the way.
You don't have to pay the initiation fee until your first gig.
But at least you can say you're a member if asked at the interview.