IATSE Local 798 represents make-up artists and hair stylists working across film, television, and commercial productions. Local 798 is one of more than 350 locals chartered by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents workers in the entertainment industry across the United States and Canada.

A local serving make-up and hair stylists has an operational pattern that differs from a standard trade local: members are often on set, away from any office or home computer, when staffing opportunities arise. When a new position opens up on a production, the working members who learn about it first need a fast way to find other qualified members. A website that members cannot reach from set is not a staffing tool.

To put a real union staffing app in members' hands, Local 798 deployed the eMembership Member Web Portal and the eMembership labor union app, with member-to-member staffing handled directly from members' phones.

A website that members on set could not reach

Before deploying the eMembership labor union app, Local 798 ran member-to-member staffing through an availability list on the local's website. The list itself worked, but members on set were rarely near a computer, which made one of the most important union functions nearly impossible to use at the moment it was needed.

• Members away from desks. Make-up artists and hair stylists spend most working days on set, far from any office or home computer.
• Critical function only on web. The availability list lived on the local's website, accessible only from a computer.
• Staffing decisions happen on set. Job-fill opportunities surface in the moment, but the tool to act on them required leaving the set.
• No mobile path for dues or other services. Routine member business like dues payments also required a computer.

The local needed a real union staffing app, with the same availability list and union services packaged for the phones that members actually carry on set.

A labor union app in every member's pocket

Local 798 deployed the eMembership Member Web Portal and the labor union app together. Members can now use their phones to report their own availability and search the list for other available members, with all data running against the eMembership database in real time.

Self-reported availability from the set

Members report their own availability directly from the labor union app. When a working member learns about a position that needs filling, they can search the same list from their phone to find other qualified, available members and reach out immediately.

Real-time data on the eMembership database

The app and the portal both run against the same eMembership database that staff use. Availability updates show up immediately to anyone searching the list, and member contact data is current rather than synchronized from somewhere else.

Routine business from the phone

Beyond staffing, members use the app to check contracts, post work, find other members, and pay dues. The same functions that used to require leaving the set now happen on the phone.

Member-to-member staffing model

The member-to-member staffing function is faster and more reliable than the website-only version it replaced. Faster job placement is better for the members who fill the work and better for the productions that need the work filled.

A platform that supports on-set members and the office

Beyond the union staffing app function, Local 798 uses a range of integrated tools within eMembership:

• Online dues payments through the labor union app and union member portal
• Contract access from the app for members on set
• Union grievances filed directly from the app or portal
• Bulk email and SMS union communications for time-sensitive updates
• Union meetings and event management with member signup
• Real-time availability updates visible to all members searching the list

Staffing on set, delinquency down, members happier

With the labor union app deployed, Local 798's member-to-member union staffing function runs at the speed of the production schedule, and routine member business like dues payments happens where members already are.

• Member-to-member staffing dramatically streamlined. The on-set staffing function that was nearly impossible without phone access is now fast and reliable.
• Faster job placement. Productions get qualified members in roles quickly, which is better for the productions and for the members.
• Online dues payments reduced delinquency. Members pay dues from the app, which has significantly reduced payment delinquency.
• Routine business off the office phone. Members handle contracts, work posting, and member search from their phones rather than through the office.
• One database, two surfaces. The portal and the app run against the same eMembership database, so members see current data on whichever surface they prefer.