50 Years After Dr. King’s Death, PPAs to Organize and Fight for Dignity and Respect
With
the 50th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fast
approaching, New York City’s Parking Production Assistants (PPAs) – the
TV and film industry workers of predominantly African-American and
Hispanic descent who strive to keep the streets clear of cars
when TV and film studios do shoots, including placing signage at site
locations – will join Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network (NAN)
to announce their plans to unionize on Martin Luther King Day,
January 15, at 12pm at NAN’s House of Justice, 106 West 145th Street in Harlem. PPAs will embody
the spirit of Dr. King, who died fighting for invisible laborers who
weren’t recognized by their own union in Memphis, Tennessee on April
4th, 1968.
PPAs are consistently forced to work long hours for low wages in extremely deplorable conditions. PPA’s suffer inhumane conditions on the job, aren’t allowed to leave sites when there is inclement weather, and the on-location bathroom is usually not made available to them. There is no labor union for PPAs dedicated to protecting member interests and improving wages, hours, or conditions.
Last month, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to seek union elections for all PPAs who work for SONY, NBC/Universal, ABC Studios, HBO, and CBS/Viacom. The petition included signatures from an overwhelming majority of PPAs who wish to join the union. The National Labor Relations Board will be mailing out ballots on January 26th to all eligible employees.
“Allowing Parking Production Assistants to unionize is clearly the right thing to do,” said NAN President and Founder Rev. Al Sharpton. “It is time these hardworking individuals struggling to make ends meet get the support they deserve, and I am proud to have them join me at NAN on King Day. An effort like this, in the spirit of Dr. King, is long overdue.”
“Right now, many workers of color in film are finding themselves working long hours for low wages in disgraceful conditions,” said Martin Luther King III, a supporter of the effort. “New York City and the film industry have allowed this injustice to continue for far too long, and in one of the most progressive cities in the nation, New York needs to take the lead in unionizing PPAs.”
The effort by PPAs to unionize comes on the heels of a 2016 class action lawsuit between production assistants and Paramount Pictures, where PPAs claimed in their initial January 21, 2016 filing that “many of the plaintiffs are forced to urinate and defecate into bottles and buckets in their vehicles.” In September, the lawsuit was settled for $700,000.
“The legacy of Dr. King’s dream is not limited to the political liberation of people of color, but extends also to social and economic liberation. As the Chair of the State Senate Labor Committee and a champion for greater diversity in the film and TV industry, I am proud to stand with The National Action Network, CWA, and these brave workers in their fight to unionize,” said New York State Senator Marisol Alcantara. “New York City’s Parking Production Assistants deserve the same workplace representation afforded to other sectors of the entertainment industry, and I stand with them.”
“With support from activists like us, Parking Production Assistants can start a coordinated and effective campaign to finally get a voice for their interests in the form of a union,” said Hazel Dukes, President of the NAACP New York State Conference. “It is time to move forward.”
Source: Mercury
PPAs are consistently forced to work long hours for low wages in extremely deplorable conditions. PPA’s suffer inhumane conditions on the job, aren’t allowed to leave sites when there is inclement weather, and the on-location bathroom is usually not made available to them. There is no labor union for PPAs dedicated to protecting member interests and improving wages, hours, or conditions.
Last month, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to seek union elections for all PPAs who work for SONY, NBC/Universal, ABC Studios, HBO, and CBS/Viacom. The petition included signatures from an overwhelming majority of PPAs who wish to join the union. The National Labor Relations Board will be mailing out ballots on January 26th to all eligible employees.
“Allowing Parking Production Assistants to unionize is clearly the right thing to do,” said NAN President and Founder Rev. Al Sharpton. “It is time these hardworking individuals struggling to make ends meet get the support they deserve, and I am proud to have them join me at NAN on King Day. An effort like this, in the spirit of Dr. King, is long overdue.”
“Right now, many workers of color in film are finding themselves working long hours for low wages in disgraceful conditions,” said Martin Luther King III, a supporter of the effort. “New York City and the film industry have allowed this injustice to continue for far too long, and in one of the most progressive cities in the nation, New York needs to take the lead in unionizing PPAs.”
The effort by PPAs to unionize comes on the heels of a 2016 class action lawsuit between production assistants and Paramount Pictures, where PPAs claimed in their initial January 21, 2016 filing that “many of the plaintiffs are forced to urinate and defecate into bottles and buckets in their vehicles.” In September, the lawsuit was settled for $700,000.
“The legacy of Dr. King’s dream is not limited to the political liberation of people of color, but extends also to social and economic liberation. As the Chair of the State Senate Labor Committee and a champion for greater diversity in the film and TV industry, I am proud to stand with The National Action Network, CWA, and these brave workers in their fight to unionize,” said New York State Senator Marisol Alcantara. “New York City’s Parking Production Assistants deserve the same workplace representation afforded to other sectors of the entertainment industry, and I stand with them.”
“With support from activists like us, Parking Production Assistants can start a coordinated and effective campaign to finally get a voice for their interests in the form of a union,” said Hazel Dukes, President of the NAACP New York State Conference. “It is time to move forward.”
Source: Mercury
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