479 NEWS
Local 479 Welcomes Comptroller Jimmy Butts
This month Local 479 welcomes its new financial comptroller, Jimmy Butts. As our Secretary/Treasurer position begins its transition from full-time to “as needed” (in effect part-time), Jimmy will assume management of the Local’s day-to-day financial obligations, serving as its formal accountant. He will help to manage the Local’s investment accounts, oversee compliance with all federal and state entities, and perform the Local’s tax and Department of (more…)
Observant Medic Helps Crewperson Get Life-Saving Surgery
Last week Set Medic Teresa Hardie was approached by a crewmember complaining of localized discomfort. The symptoms were significant enough to prompt Teresa, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), to urge the crewmember to go to the hospital. While the crewmember was at first reluctant to leave set, Teresa was doggedly persistent and eventually convinced them to take her advice.
This insistence undoubtedly saved the crewperson’s life, because once at the hospital it was confirmed that the patient was in peril, and surgeons moved quickly to (more…)
Piedmont Healthcare Back In-Network
The National Benefits Fund has confirmed that Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield reached a new multi-year agreement with Piedmont Healthcare, Inc. and Piedmont Clinic Physician Practices (collectively “Piedmont”). This new agreement will enable our members to continue to (more…)
BlueCross BlueShield Contract Expiration with Piedmont Healthcare
If you are a member of IATSE Local 479 and participate in any of the National Benefits Fund Plan C Health Insurance Plans, then you are a BlueCross BlueShield customer, and you should read the following message very carefully:
At midnight on March 31, the contract between BlueCross BlueShield and Piedmont Healthcare officially expired.
Contracts expiring between health insurance providers and health care facilities are routine, and in most cases it is expected that an agreement will be reached before the expiration date. This time, however, an agreement was not reached, and those of us with BlueCross BlueShield health insurance are now going to be considered OUT OF NETWORK at all Piedmont Healthcare (more…)
Faced with Life or Death on Set: When Seconds Count
It was a typical late June afternoon in Riverchase, a bustling community in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover. With temperatures climbing steadily toward the nineties, traces of future storm clouds began to dot the far horizon.
A group of trucks were parked just outside the Rooms To Go store on Chapel Lane and a steady stream of people had been ferrying equipment in and out of the building all morning long, the telltale indication of an active commercial shoot.
A number of the shooting crew from Atlanta had arrived in town the previous night and the Key Grip, Roger Sherer, was animatedly telling his friends about a local restaurant he’d found that featured great food and live music. A musician himself, Roger wanted to get a group together and (more…)
Governor Deal Announces 2017 the Year of Film in Georgia
This past Wednesday morning under the gold dome of the Georgia State Capitol, Governor Nathan Deal declared 2017 the “Year of Film in Georgia“, leveraging the state’s rising image in the global filmmaking community to encourage people to choose Georgia as a vacation destination and to explore locations from popular movies and television series.
Representatives from Local 479 joined with Lee Thomas and members of Georgia’s Film Commission, along with representatives from Local 600, Local 798, SAG/AFTRA, the Georgia Production Partnership, the Georgia Film Academy, the Georgia Studio Alliance, Marvel Studios and more to demonstrate the appreciation of Georgia’s film and television industry for the (more…)
Welcome to Your New Member Dashboard
On Friday, December 16th, our new and improved Member Dashboard (www.iaentertainment-locals.org/479) website was finally released to the membership, following many long months of planning and development. Our primary mission has been to put as much control in our members’ hands, providing tools so that they may access information quickly and efficiently. The Member Dashboard has been an enormous effort on the front end (for members) and the back end (for administration by staff) and the site now provides access to the data considered proprietary to our members – from personal account balance and history of assessments paid, to call sheets, production lists, and rumors list, the information members need is now available and secure, and mobile-friendly. Keep reading for a visual walk-through of the new Member Dashboard website. (more…)
2016 Election Results
The results of this year’s elections were tabulated today at the office, with oversight by The American Arbitration Association (AAA) and with representatives for several candidates present. The results were provided to President Ray Brown to be announced to the membership.
The results are as follow:
Business Agent: Michael Akins
Sergeant At Arms: Kathy Tonkin-Vasquez
Delegate To the Atlanta Labor Council: Peter McGoran
Constitution of Local 479 Article 5, Section 7 Those candidates receiving a majority vote shall be declared elected. The results of the election shall be sent to all members within five (5) days after the count. In case of a tie vote, or if no candidate receives a majority vote for a particular office, the President shall declare a run-off election to be held between the two candidates receiving the most votes. The ballots for the run-off election shall be prepared and mailed within fifteen (15) days after the Ballot count, to be returned within thirty (30) days, and handled as set forth above.
Coming Soon: New Member Dashboard
At our most recent General Membership meeting our web development team provided a demonstration of two upcoming new websites for Local 479, the result of more than a year of planning. The first is a new public-facing website (a preview of which was posted yesterday), the second a members-only site, referred to as the Member Dashboard. [photograph in header to this note by (more…)
The 2016 Local 479 Elections
Ballots will be mailed out today, Friday, October 21st, for an election to fill three positions in our local. The candidates for this year are listed below, alphabetically by office then last name. Incumbents are denoted out to the side with the (more…)