Quebec producers renew commitment to drafting new multimedia bargaining deals

Quebec’s multimedia producers are determined to negotiate agreements with artists’ unions despite a recent provincial ruling that leaves the question of bargaining rights up in the air. At a meeting June 20 in Montreal, about 25 producers re-confirmed their commitment to keep the negotiation arm of the Alliance NumériQC operating in the hopes of striking collective agreements with both the Union des Artistes (UDA) and with the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA). The producers’ group, the Bureau des producteurs en contenu interactif (BPCI), remains hopeful of having agreements in place within six to eight months in the absence of formal recognition by the province of its right to negotiate, and that funding will become stable enough to hire new legal staff by the fall. The recent BPCI meeting was called to discuss strategy in the wake of several threats to the organizations’ stability. On April 17, the provincial body responsible for recognizing bargaining units in Quebec’s cultural industries, the Commission de reconnaissance des associations d’artistes et des associations de producteurs (CRAAAP), issued an inconclusive ruling to BPCI’s request that it be recognized as the bargaining unit as the multimedia field is currently not covered by the law. The ruling, which seems to indicate that multimedia is covered piecemeal in other agreements such as those covering film, sound recordings or video, extends nearly four years of uncertainty for multimedia producers. Both the BPCI’s predecessor, the Association des producteurs en multimédia du Quebec (APMQ) and another group, the Association des producteurs audiovisuelle de commande (APAC), have tried unsuccessfully for several years to resolve the issue, without success. Three years ago, the APAC had direct discussions with the UDA and negotiated for about a year and a half until January 2001 when the Alliance NumériQC was formed and asked APAC to join it (CNM, Dec. 14/00). While APAC had refused to join the APMQ three years ago, it was convinced with the offer of a significant cash grant to join forces, creating the BPCI in January 2001 as the Alliance’s labour relations wing. With $125,000 per year for two years from the Alliance, the BPCI hired two staff, including a senior lawyer formerly with the UDA. But negotiations to secure operating funds from the Alliance have preoccupied the two organizations and the lawyer has since left the BPCI. "We had an agreement," says BPCI president René Lepire of the funding arrangement between the Alliance and the BPCI, "but it was impossible for the Alliance to respect it." Part of the uncertainty in funding the BPCI, says Alliance spokesperson Daniel Boismenu, is that the grant agreement was struck during the heyday of the dot com boom, and the association’s financial picture is no longer as rosy. "The Alliance recognized the fact that this question is a necessity for the industry, but at the same time, the financial situation of the Alliance NumériQC isn’t blue sky." Boismenu says the Alliance hopes to continue funding the BPCI, though likely at reduced levels. Lepire says despite the lack of Alliance funding, the BPCI decided June 20 to proceed, likely funded through a mix of membership fees, which may now be based on company revenues, sponsorships, and at least some money from its parent organization. A committee has been struck to explore financing options. With renewed commitment from the producers to further the BPCI’s agenda, Lepire says the focus will now be on negotiating agreements with artists, even without the CRAAAP’s blessing. Lepire’s priority is to put in place working agreements that respect the unique nature of the multimedia field. He says the body will negotiate first with the UDA, which has already proven amenable to opening negotiations. "CRAAAP is not my priority because we lost so much time on this thing, and have no result at all. Now, I prefer to aim directly at what is affecting us: negotiations." "We’re trying to find an agreement with the Union – ACTRA as well – that will be realistic, related to our industry, and the ability of clients and organizations to pay for what they’re asking for. If we have a good agreement, it’s going to be a win-win situation because the artists will have better working conditions and producers will hire more artists. They won’t be afraid of hiring an artist because they think they’re entering a process that will cost a lot of money. When you hire the right person for the job, you always win somewhere." The delay in determining the bargaining environment, however, may have proven a blessing in disguise. Organizations such as the UDA are becoming aware, Lepire says, of the different financial environment for multimedia production. Lepire says a multimedia-specific agreement is crucial since existing film or music agreements don’t take the industry economics into account. For example, he says it’s foolish for artists to demand high rates of compensation for their work that appears online as part of a producer’s portfolio. "On the Internet, it’s not closed circuit, it’s considered broadcast. Artists become crazy," he says. In the film industry, with its much larger budgets, it’s understandable that artists such as actors might demand more money for work that appears on the Internet, but multimedia companies don’t have the same resources. "There is not that much money in this industry. It’s a myth that there’s that much money. We’re not Hollywood," he says. "Everybody knows that we don’t make millions of dollars with production." ACTRA’s multimedia negotiator, Thomas Tapley, couldn’t immediately comment on the situation in Quebec but says he’ll be in Montreal within a couple of weeks to deal with the issue.

Quebec producers renew commitment to drafting new multimedia bargaining deals

News | 07/10/2002 4:00 am EDT

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