She needed to pay the $6,000 fee to get entry into the circle of workers considered for coveted jobs in entertainment. Even after joining the union in 2015 she said she applied for over 100 jobs without a call back.
While campaigns like #OscarsSoWhite have cast a critical light on how Hollywood has overlooked the work of actors or directors of color, activists say significant disparities remain “below the line,These behind-scenes workers include makeup artists, grips, set decorators, film editors and other technicians are represented by various unions that remain overwhelmingly white and are often difficult to join for people of color.
“It’s important for the unions to have these discussions so that we can bring issues to the studios,” Dayan said.To get into Local 399, anyone working 30 non-consecutive days on a set in a year can join. But Dayan and other union representatives noted that producers and studios do the hiring. Julie Socash, president of the Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild, Local 706, also stressed that producers make hiring decisions.She said her local is one of the few that allows work on non-union jobs to qualify for membership. That is how Chaney eventually managed to accrue enough time to join the union.
Although data is scarce, people of color are substantially underrepresented on film crews, experts say.“Anecdotally, it appears as if the numbers are really bad, but we haven’t been able to get our hands on reliable data to include in our studies of Hollywood diversity and inclusion,” said Darnell Hunt,The Directors Guild of America has tracked diversity in its ranks for many years.
But it wasn’t until she met veteran designer Danielle Hollowell, who brought Fulp in as an assistant costume designer on the hit movie “Girls Trip,” that she got the guidance she needed, she said.
MatthewACherry All unions!
Also everywhere USA ... funny what’s news is to some ...reality check
Thank you for shedding light on this!
We certainly need more makeup artists of color who understand that makeup for ethnic people is not the same as that for Caucasian people. Same with hair.
More racism from this obsolete rag.
Reported for racism.
Then join a union!! Amazing that inaction by one group is now the fault of another group.
There should be no unions in the first place. It's socialist nonsense and limits free competition as well as quality of final products.