EXCLUSIVE: Rebecca Rhine, who has served as national executive director of the International Cinematographers Guild since December 2015, is stepping down when her contract expires at the end of September.Rhine, IATSE Local 600’s first female executive director, explained in a letter to the guild’s elected officials Sunday, “This Local has so much heart and so much potential, but it can be undermined by mistrust and our tendency to turn on each other.”“Building a stronger union requires patience, collaboration, and hard work,” she wrote. “That means instead of posting about how it should be done, do something.
That means if you are going to talk about what is wrong, offer some ideas for how you think it could be done right. That means bringing members together to educate and empower them by telling them the truth, even when it isn’t what they want to hear.
Then turn your attention outward to the fight that matters to working members, the one with our employers for better wages, benefits and working conditions.”Guild president John Lindley, who is stepping aside after his one term in office ends June 18, sent a letter to guild leaders and staff on Sunday notifying them of Rhine’s decision. “My single regret,” he wrote, “is that we were unable to maintain an environment for her that would have encouraged her to stay.” Four candidates are vying to succeed him in the guild’s ongoing officer elections, which conclude on Thursday.With nearly 9,000 active members, the guild is IATSE’s largest local, and one of only three with national jurisdiction.
During a fractious vote last November for a new film and TV contract, the guild was one of five of IATSE’s 13 West Coast studio locals that voted against it, though Rhine and the
Read more on deadline.com