First, a few disclaimers - costuming is not just sewing, shopping and looking at nice clothes, though it can be all of those things sometimes. Mostly it’s teamwork and moving things from one place to another, and very often it’s picking foam and dirt out of shoes. I usually work as an ACD and describe it as “organizing chaos”. If you are completely brand new to film, please do your homework before jumping in - it looks really fun and glamorous but the hours can be grueling and the work culture is often taxing on your physical, emotional and mental health.
Why join a union at all? Due to the nature of the industry, film work has special regulations in Ontario that do not entitle you to limits on work hours, rest periods or eating periods, as you would usually have in most other jobs. Working on a union production gives you coverage under the collective agreement - including requiring the production to pay into WSIB in case you get hurt, mandating minimum wages, fringes and overtime pay, and doing our best to bargain for more work/life balance. Without a union, very often the short term and temporary nature of a production means that there is no one to help you if you discover a pay discrepancy or are injured on the job.
There are a few routes to gaining membership within the costume department, please hit the arrows to toggle for more info.
<aside> 💡 Please be aware that a there is a trade test requirement for admittance as a costume member. It is a written test with a small hand-sewing practical, which must be taken in person at the NABET office. Once an applicant is otherwise eligible for membership (either has remitted enough permit fees, or is approved for fast tracking pending a passing grade on the costume trade test), they will be able to book their test during office hours, 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday.
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