Support Needed from Our Community

A Message from Erin + Cheyenne, Co-Founders of Stand With Production

We are writing to you today, our Stand With Production community, to ask for financial support. This is not easy for us to do. We are reaching out to ask for consistent monetary help over the next few months while this movement advances into an actual union. And once that happens we will both have sustainable jobs.

There is a great deal of shame that rises up around asking for help. Sacrifice was needed in order to make this movement happen. We put ourselves in this situation, we sacrificed our livelihoods, because that is what was needed to create this change.

Now we need help to pay bills and pay off debts that have become unmanageable.

We have an inability to move or downsize living situations because we are bound by our current leases, can’t afford the cost of moving, and we do not have the proof of consistent income needed. We have family members that depend on our financial support. Erin has her two kids and Cheyenne financially supports her mom. We both accrued substantial debt trying to live the past 16 months. There has been a complete loss of savings or safety net which has a greater impact on our lives.

Erin has been blacklisted and has not been called for work since the walkout despite reaching out to employers and friends. Any income along with stipends from previous fundraising paid to Erin in the past 16 months has only covered about 25% of her monthly costs.

What we have accomplished since October 17th, 2021:

• Secured legal counsel with experience representing IATSE locals to advise us and proofread any public-facing documents to ensure the protection and greatest outcome of any of our efforts.

• Created employment guidelines to standardize working conditions for commercial production workers that got the attention of all commercial production companies & the AICP, instantly increasing wages and visibility for production workers in our industry.

• Formed a non-profit entity that ultimately got the attention and full-fledged support of IATSE within 2.5 months of the initial walkout.

• Successfully secured a path for union recognition by our employers within 14 months of organizing.

• Spent hundreds of hours connecting to individuals within this community working to understand the needs and priorities of the unit.

• Empowering the community to value themselves the way that other crafts in the industry are valued.

• Shedding existing conditioning that says we are not allowed to ask for what we deserve & proving production workers do in fact bring a unique skill set to our jobs that is not easily mimicked or replaced.

What we are actively working on and have put into motion since October 17th, 2021:

• Equitable wages for the production department on commercials.

• Living wages for Production Assistants, the most undervalued and essential part of any commercial set.

• Access to employer-paid healthcare for thousands of people who do not currently qualify (only about 20% of active production department freelancers benefit from the current healthcare option available to us).

• Employer-funded retirement options (consider what your actual rate is if you were to factor in what would be paid into a pension or retirement plan).

• Uplifting the business and creating a sustainable industry that fosters pride and integrity of work that we bring to our jobs.

• Better work/life balance (is there any balance now???).

• Supporting and creating visibility for below-the-line production workers who have been given little care, concern, or tangible support for their well-being.

• Elimination of pushing inexperienced workers to do things they are not qualified to do and being ignored if they express concern. This causes very real harm and trauma for those with the least amount of power in this industry (i.e. Production Assistants & Coordinators).

• Creating opportunities for growth for folks who have not had access in the current system.

• Creating incentives for dedicated and qualified workers to stay within the industry.

• Training and education for both on-set practices and cultural safety.

• Once we receive recognition from the AICP, Stand With Production will be one of the top – 10 largest units to unionize, across ALL INDUSTRIES, in the U.S. in 2022.

The system we work in is broken and it would not have fixed itself. THIS is why we sacrificed our own financial security and continue to do this work. Our passions lie in increased equity and support for those who have not been in positions of power under the current system. We want to uplift those who have been harmed by the prevailing industry standard. We aim to truly diversify sets by creating better access & opportunity for traditionally marginalized folks to work in creative key roles so that they may have an impact and influence over the content we create.

We believe our industry can be both sustainable AND prioritize humanity over corporate and individual profit. We want to provide access to education and training that exposes individual blindspots and creates a safe space for everyone. This is what keeps us going, the prospect of bringing about real systemic change.

We are asking for our community to make a regular contribution over the next few months.

We really need some sustainability and ease on our monetary stress in order to get us across the finish line. We have thousands of people in this community and we have worked tirelessly to create a better future. If our community could donate $10-$250 a month, we will have the ability to pay our bills, stay in our homes, support our families, and stay focused on the remaining steps of forming a national union for commercial production workers.

In Solidarity,

Erin + Cheyenne