Open Letter to IATSE President Matthew D. Loeb…

Dear President Loeb,

Hollywood Reporter quotes Kent Jorgensen and identifies him as a top Union official. In writing about assistant camera Sarah Jones,  he speaks of a “manifestation of a too common lack of a regard for safety.” Alluding to the sleep depriving work he says; “I’m a union leader, I’ve got a faction that wants one thing, another one that wants something else. Some people want to stop hours. Some say, ’I want to pay for my boat with my overtime.’ It’s a tough call.”

At the 2013 I.A.T.S.E. Quadrennial Convention a unanimous Resolution was passed beginning with these words:

“There exists indisputable evidence from scientific, medical and empirical studies linking sleep deprivation and fatigue to critical safety and health hazards.”

The Resolution warns, “this is a critical issue of health, safety and life.” Not a subject for negotiations.

How can Jorgensen to be quoted as talking about factions within our organization when the IA has spoken with all the authority of a Resolution? Will you, Mr. President, correctly state the IA position publicly? Is there a discipline procedure in place to deal with a  top Union official speaks publicly, contradicts a unanimous decision made by the membership and expressed in that Resolution?

Sincerely,

Haskell Wexler