FERA-FSE-UNI MEI Holds First Online Workshop “From Representation to Bargaining: Engaging the Members’ Base”
FERA, FSE and UNI MEI held the first online workshop “From Representation to Bargaining: Engaging the Members’ Base” of the joint project “Strengthening Collective Bargaining for Audiovisual Creators” (CBW) on June 8, 2021.
The workshop was introduced and moderated by FERA CEO Pauline Durand-Vialle and FSE Executive Officer David Kavanagh and gathered 52 participants from the FERA and FSE network in 21 countries.
The meeting kicked off with the presentation of the preliminary results of the FERA survey on EU Directors Collective Representation by Pauline Durand-Vialle and the presentation of the FSE survey on EU Screenwriters Collective Representation by David Kavanagh. Both survey results uncovered the systemic weaknesses of professional organisations of screenwriters and directors across Europe, with the online workshop aiming at developing a tailored toolkit for screenwriters and directors on organizing, based on the exchange.
The webinar also featured a presentation on organising, collective bargaining and how to efficiently engage the members’ base by Ben Egan, Organising Director at UNI Europa.
In the last part of the online meeting, the participants were divided into breakout groups to discuss what directors and screenwriters’ professional organizations need to do in order to engage in collective bargaining efficiently, covering questions such as “how to strengthen the organization?” and “how to strengthen the advocacy and campaigning work?”.
The online workshop offered FERA and FSE members a platform to brainstorm and exchange ideas on organizing and collective bargaining in the audiovisual sector as well as a setup to create alliances between directors and screenwriters.