Baird Steptoe Sr. has been elected national president of the International Cinematographers Guild, IATSE Local 600. Steptoe, currently the guild’s 2nd national vice president, won the presidency in a four-way race against Jamie Silverstein, the guild’s national assistant secretary-treasurer, national executive board member Dianne Farrington, and camera operator Casey Shaw.With 32.4% of the guild’s 9,000+ eligible members casting ballots, the final vote tally was: Steptoe, 1,106; Silverstein, 909; Farrington, 416; and Shaw, 121Steptoe will succeed John Lindley, whose one term as president expires June 18, as the guild is in a period of transition.
Earlier this week, Rebecca Rhine announced that she would be stepping down as national executive director when her contract expires at the end of September.
In a letter to the guild’s officers and board members on Sunday, she wrote: “I am choosing to tell you this now so there is absolutely no perception that my decision is connected in any way to the outcome of the Local 600 election currently underway.”Lindley’s presidency began in March of 2020 as the industry was just beginning to shut down in the first days of the Covid-19 pandemic, and he was deeply involved in the industry-wide negotiations that got it restarted a few months later under strict Covid protocols.
His term also coincided with a renewed push for shorter workdays and more humane working conditions, which culminated in a contentious contract ratification vote last November.
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