In a groundbreaking move, the IATSE has entered into an agreement with ColossoVision Canada to provide supplementary crew support across the entire country for ColossoVision’s live event productions, exhibit, and display services. Both groups look to the agreement as a partnership and the opening up of both geographical and technical areas of employment with the potential to offer work to hundreds of IA members across Canada.
The agreement, which was negotiated by IA International Vice-President Damian Petti and Andy Soltesz and Vicki Pierce, co-founders of ColossoVision, is the first of its kind and a major breakthrough for Canadian IA members. The terms of the one-year agreement call for ColossoVision to employ IA members through individual locals in their respective jurisdictions when the company has live events in their areas.
ColossoVision offers production consultation, live video production services, content creation, web streaming, and large video LED screens for events across Canada. The fact that they can now call on the services of trained IA members to staff those events gives them an opportunity to better serve their clients.
IA President Thomas C. Short praised the agreement, stating, “The IATSE is committed to representing workers in all facets of the entertainment industry in Canada and the United States and this agreement represents an important achievement. Our ability to obtain National and International agreements is enhanced when the International works in conjunction with our local unions.”
Said ColossoVision co-founder Soltesz, “We now have an alliance of professional resource personnel across Canada that we can call anytime, which will save our clients money and yet retain the integrity and professionalism which we know we can deliver.”
The agreement will also serve as a working model for further organizing of live event and exhibit companies.