Local 44 briefly struck Lenny Marvin Props in mid-September. But the picket lines went down after three days when a contract agreement on behalf of 15 workers covered by the IATSE-affiliated Property Craftpersons union was negotiated with the Burbank-based prop house.Though the prop shop has only 25 employees overall, the job action by Local 44 was part of an ongoing campaign to organize and negotiate with smaller local prop shops, according to Ronnie Cunningham, the union’s business agent. He had briefly joined the picket line.At the end of September, Local 44 announced it had organized Plan B Visual Design, another small Burbank-based prop shop. “The goal of Local 44 is to knock off all of these smaller fixed facilities, one by one,” said Cunningham.“We got most of what we were asking for with Lenny Marvin,” said Cunningham. The agreement included wage increases ranging from 50 cents to $3 an hour, he said.Employees at Lenny Marvin Props voted in June to be represented by Local 44. The company’s management did not oppose the action and negotiated in good faith with the union. The initial offer was rejected as inadequate, which triggered the brief walkout.
Written by Jack Egan
