Information for hiring a Y16-A sound trainee on your next project.
“Up-reach” Talking Points for IATSE Local 695 Members v2
By:
Devendra Cleary
In supplement of the Sound & Video Opportunity Program for Diversity & Inclusion document we previewed
at the ED&O meeting; here is a living document with some possible taking points in support of hiring Y-16a
Trainees while in discussion with Line Producers and Unit Production Managers:
• Our Union wants to partner with you and (enter studio name) to help foster more diversity across the board
behind the camera.
• Our training program is fairly new and at this point very under-utilized.
• The Sound/Video Trainee hired for a given production would be someone who has a genuine interest in our
respective crafts.
• We realized that there may be individuals in underrepresented groups who never knew that they could
pursue a career in sound or video engineering and that you had to “know someone” or possess a nepotistic
position. We as a Union decided we need to do better in reaching out to these underrepresented groups.
(Discuss our educational outreach programs once implemented)
• Hiring a Y-16a for your production would not displace any skilled sound or video department crew member.
• It’s win/win. We get an extra team member in departments that are often maxed out to the brim with regard
to our workload. And the production gets to do their part in helping grow the collection of craftspeople into a
union level skillset that otherwise may not have had the opportunity to do so. We can create rewarding
careers here.
• For the cost of one background performer, production gets a sound/video trainee that (with the appropriate
aptitude and mentorship) will manifest into valuable woman-power/man-power that highly contributes to
production efficiency on any set. Time is money and an over-tasked Video Assist Operator and/or Utility
Sound Technician could delegate to overcome any loss of time.
• Diversity makes our Union and our industry stronger. We always want to hire inclusive teams with gender
and racial parity. But often the talent pool may be unfairly limited as a direct result of historically and
systemically seeing less opportunities for these underrepresented groups. We can disrupt this cycle with
training and mentorship without prematurely throwing inexperienced personnel into specific positions. We
can train a more diverse workforce from the ground up that will net results in the coming years. Be a part of
this change! Put action behind words and change lives for the better.
• In a COVID-19 compliant set, the sound department risks being subject to a tipping point with regard to the
department’s and especially the Utility Sound Technician’s overall duties. In situations where the full need for
an additional UST hasn’t been reached; just simply having the extra hands on deck for the UST to delegate
outer-set tasks to would allow for the avoidance of any cross-pod activity keeping the UST inside the
approved red zone at all times, insulating the UST from any outer-zone personnel. These tasks would serve
as trainable activities as they are a way to learn these fundamental and specific Y-7a responsibilities.
• The language in the current contract is in support of cooperations such as this program. “In recognition of the
need for the IATSE and the Producers to cooperate in their efforts to promote diversity in the hiring of IATSE represented classifications…” —August 1, 2018 Side letter to the 2018-2021 Basic Agreement p. 178