Curious about unions

[VEsherry]

Does anyone know where I can find IATSE and possibly the DGA rulebook, guidlines, handbook, or Whatever they have?

I'm curious to find out the differences between the rules and Equity's

[ericjames]

There is no "rule book" for IATSE.     Every local has its own contract with different terms based on the city and venue they are working with.   There are some national PINK contracts that apply to Broadway and national tours, but unless you are on those contracts, I don't think you can get a hold of them.   

I have worked under a number of IA contracts over the years... is there something specific you are interested in? I can try and help.

[VEsherry]

Its a side question for my capstone and also I am generally curious.
I'm trying to figure out Why stage managers are apart of Equity and not apart of a different union like the DGA or IATSE.
I figured I could go through their rules/ guidleines to be able to compare and contrast the unions with stage managers needs but, alas, there is no rule book.

To MORE RESEARCH!

[MatthewShiner]

There is no perfect place to put stage managers, but AEA makes the most sense of the three unions . . . in my opinion . . .

[VEsherry]

Agreed.
but im just researching more about this so I can know more. I saw the forum in the Green room about What union would suit stage managers better and There was an unanimous agreement that Equity is the best fit. But i was still curious about why people would think otherwise, and want to know more about the other unions.

[SMrose]

Try to get a hold of the IATSE Constitution and By-Laws.  These apply to all IATSE members and then, as ericjames stated, each local has it's own contracts.
IATSE is a technical guild. Since AEA contracts limit what technical aspects of a show an SM touches, since SM's spend most of the rehearsal period with the cast, Equity is the better fit.

[On_Headset]

What did Birdie say in All About Eve?

"Next to a tenor, a wardrobe woman is the touchiest thing in show business. She's only got three jobs: pick up clothes, press 'em wrong, and don't let nobody muscle in." Something like that, anyhow.

Stage managers are in Equity in large part to protect IATSE jobs, and vice-versa. If there were more crossover in responsibilities (if stage managers could be asked to perform building maintenance, for example), the unions would be constantly butting heads and producers would be playing them off against each other. Keeing stage managers in with the actors frees up additional work for IATSE members, forces producers to hire more people, and also promotes the idea that stage managers are artists, rather than technicians.