Ed Brown From IATSE Local 44 Responds To LA Times Editorial By Michael Hiltzik

On Sunday June 20th 2010 ; Michael Hiltzik from the Los Angles Times wrote an article that quite frankly; pissed many of us fillmmakers off.

Mr. Hiltzik spoke about how the State of California is giving; in his own words “government handouts”.

Mr. Hiltzik; also in the same sentence basically said that we (the filmmaking community) are a bunch of whiners who have our hands out.

So that you can judge for yourself, here is a link to Mr. Hiltzik’s article in fairness to him.

Here is an exerpt from the article:

“all of those millions of taxpayers dollars going to recipients that line up for their government handouts instead of competing in the marketplace on a level playing field like the rest of us, who don’t pay their fair share of taxes and who get protected by a politicaly powerfull lobby”.

At this point in my writing I would like to insert Mr.Hiltziks email address: mhiltzik@latimes.com

I encourage anyone of the thousands of people that live and work in the film industry in California  to email Mr. Hiltzik and inform him about how out of whack the playing field actually is.

Be nice to Mr. Hiltzik when you email him.

Tell him the facts about the “civil war” that we face from all the other states that lure the work and suck the tax dollars out of Los Angeles and California.

Maybe Mr. Hiltzik will listen to us  and not waste the LA Times valuable space with silly articles.

Just maybe ; Mr. Hiltzik will stand up for the people in this town and stand up for his neighbors as well.

Below is  a letter to the Editor of The Los Angeles Times from Ed Brown who is the BA from IATSE Local 44.

This letter has yet to be printed by The LA Times.

Ed is a staunch supporter of the effort to “stop the bleeding” of feature film, TV and TV Commercial work from leaving the State of California.

It is important for voices like Ed Brown’s to be heard.

Here is the letter:

June 21, 2010

Dear Editor:

Re: Michael Hiltzik article “The real cause of the state budget deficit” L.A. Times Business Section Sunday June 20, 2010.

Again the L.A. Times goes after the Middle Class. In reading Mr. Hiltzik’s take on the state budget deficit I was reminded again how clearly in the dark those who profess to be thoroughly informed on the topics they write about, are really doing nothing more than filling their obligation to the Editors who expect some type of drivel to fill the space required to justify payment to that author.

In this article Mr. Hiltzik completely misstates the positive effects of the “job creating” legislation enacted under the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program. He calls it a “welfare program” and states “you could go blind” trying to find that there are facts showing that this program in fact creates jobs and keeps Film and Television Producers here in California who would have otherwise taken their projects and the jobs related to those projects to other states where such programs exist. Well put on your glasses Mr. Hiltzik. Because here are the facts.

I am the Business Agent/CEO of the largest craft Union in Hollywood, IATSE Local 44, representing close to 6000 working men and women in the Motion Picture and Television community. Our membership cover every aspect of what you see on camera, that being Construction, Propmakers, Set Decorators, Property Masters, Special Effects, Property Persons, Floorcovering, Drapery and Greenspersons. These are not the people you see on the Red Carpet or the market tabloids. They are working class people who get up at 4AM, strap on 30lbs. of tools and go off to work sometimes 12-14Hr. days. Many are your neighbors, shop in the same stores as you, their kids go to your schools and they attend your places of worship. They have seen their industry follow the pattern set by the goliath Corporations that own them, little by little outsource their jobs to the lowest bidder in every state in the United States and to every country beyond our boarders. Bit by bit eroding the Middle class and destroying the livelihoods that created it. All as California’s economy collapsed.

After years of listening to nonsense out of the mouths of legislators who took the same position you have in your article, finally California heard the voice of the working class, and passed legislation that would in fact create jobs and fill the coffers of the state tax pool simultaneously.  The California Film and Television Tax Credit Program in its first year have put to work over 1,200 members of our Union alone, solely on productions working under that program. That’s right 1,200 jobs! All taxpayers all rent or mortgage holders, automobile buyers, retail purchasers, all people who benefited directly from this program. Of all the California workers who have worked these projects over $500 million in direct wages were paid, wages which by the way went directly back into the California economy. Of the 75 projects approved for this program over $1.04 Billion dollars has been directly spent and reinvested in the California economy.

At the cost of $100 Million in credits per year, my calculator shows the state way ahead on this investment, we must have gone to different schools together when it comes to addin’ and subtractin’?  From 2003 to 2008, 50% of Motion Picture Film production has left the state of California; I guess that’s alright with you, seeing as you don’t work in this industry, you just write about it. Well for those of us that do, and by the way this is my 33^rd year in this industry, we are thrilled to see some of these jobs coming back. And that’s what Motion Picture production incentives are about one thing only; keeping jobs and tax revenue here in California. Next time you need facts, seek them out first.

Ed Brown

Business Agent IATSE, Local 44

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