Open letter to San Diego Mayor Sanders
February 12, 2009
Office of the Mayor
City Administration Building
11th Floor, 202 C Street
San Diego, CA 92101
Dear Honorable Jerry Sanders:
On behalf of Local 495, International Alliance of Theatrical and Stagehand Employees, San Diego, California this letter is to express our strong support for your recent trip to Washington, D.C. to secure Federal Stimulus Funds directly for the San Diego area. The sooner City and County infrastructure projects can be funded, the sooner the current rise in unemployment might be reversed and family bread winners can again be gainfullyemployed.
I would like to add, Mr. Mayor that if these jobs were to be Union jobs this would insure that decent and fair wages would be paid along with Health & Retirement benefits. Only with fair and decent wages and benefits can American workers play their vital role in kick-starting the United States and San Diego’s economies back into high-gear. I am the Business Manager of IATSE Local 495, Motion Picture Studio Mechanics of San Diego. We represent many of the “below-the-line” employees in the Film and Television Production Industry in our area. We are the workforce behind such local contributions to America’s entertainment scene such as “Veronica Mars”, “John From Cincinnati”, “Lords of Dogtown”, “The Antwan Fischer Story” and most recently, “The Ex-List” for CBS television. We have seen our industry take many hits, both locally and nationally during the last two years. Presently local production is at a standstill.
So, I would like you to consider, Mayor Sanders, that Film and Television projects are “labor-intensive ready-to-go” projects that might employ 300-500 people full & part time. Since local film incentives might make the difference as to whether a production chooses to film here in San Diego or not this would make a worthy application of any stimulus funds you may receive. I hope you will seriously consider this. We are competing directly with many incentive-rich states, e.g., New Mexico, Louisiana, etc. Georgia alone currently has seven films in the works due to incentives that that state now offers to film production companies.
Should you succeed in your acquisition of financial stimulus funds earmarked for the San Diego area, consider that from one project alone last year a total of $2,475,684.07 in locally paid wages were provided to San Diego area residents, to be “re-plowed” back into the local economy. These are good, fair wages that buy homes and cars, send kids to school and provide health care for the entire family. Hopefully, you can find a way to set aside some of these stimulus funds for local Film & Television Economic Development. So thank you for your valuable time and I hope to hear from your office shortly about this proposal. Should you decide to adopt my suggestions our office stands ready to assist you in any way that we can.
Sincerely,
Jack Shepherd
Business Manager
IATSE, Local 495
San Diego, California
Cc: City Council, San Diego Union-Tribune
Office of the Mayor
City Administration Building
11th Floor, 202 C Street
San Diego, CA 92101
Dear Honorable Jerry Sanders:
On behalf of Local 495, International Alliance of Theatrical and Stagehand Employees, San Diego, California this letter is to express our strong support for your recent trip to Washington, D.C. to secure Federal Stimulus Funds directly for the San Diego area. The sooner City and County infrastructure projects can be funded, the sooner the current rise in unemployment might be reversed and family bread winners can again be gainfullyemployed.
I would like to add, Mr. Mayor that if these jobs were to be Union jobs this would insure that decent and fair wages would be paid along with Health & Retirement benefits. Only with fair and decent wages and benefits can American workers play their vital role in kick-starting the United States and San Diego’s economies back into high-gear. I am the Business Manager of IATSE Local 495, Motion Picture Studio Mechanics of San Diego. We represent many of the “below-the-line” employees in the Film and Television Production Industry in our area. We are the workforce behind such local contributions to America’s entertainment scene such as “Veronica Mars”, “John From Cincinnati”, “Lords of Dogtown”, “The Antwan Fischer Story” and most recently, “The Ex-List” for CBS television. We have seen our industry take many hits, both locally and nationally during the last two years. Presently local production is at a standstill.
So, I would like you to consider, Mayor Sanders, that Film and Television projects are “labor-intensive ready-to-go” projects that might employ 300-500 people full & part time. Since local film incentives might make the difference as to whether a production chooses to film here in San Diego or not this would make a worthy application of any stimulus funds you may receive. I hope you will seriously consider this. We are competing directly with many incentive-rich states, e.g., New Mexico, Louisiana, etc. Georgia alone currently has seven films in the works due to incentives that that state now offers to film production companies.
Should you succeed in your acquisition of financial stimulus funds earmarked for the San Diego area, consider that from one project alone last year a total of $2,475,684.07 in locally paid wages were provided to San Diego area residents, to be “re-plowed” back into the local economy. These are good, fair wages that buy homes and cars, send kids to school and provide health care for the entire family. Hopefully, you can find a way to set aside some of these stimulus funds for local Film & Television Economic Development. So thank you for your valuable time and I hope to hear from your office shortly about this proposal. Should you decide to adopt my suggestions our office stands ready to assist you in any way that we can.
Sincerely,
Jack Shepherd
Business Manager
IATSE, Local 495
San Diego, California
Cc: City Council, San Diego Union-Tribune
