On Jan. 16, it was all hands on deck at the IATSE Local 80 headquarters in Burbank, and not just within the entertainment crew workers’ union. Representatives from the Motion Picture & Television Fund and Entertainment Community Fund were on hand to accept applications for financial assistance. Grief counselors and insurance advisors were available for meetings on the second floor.
In the soundstage used to train new grips on the tools of their trade, Local 80 business manager DeJon Ellis, Jr. oversaw the distribution of food, water and other supplies. Representatives from the costume designers’ guild, Local 892, came with donations of clothes, many of them worn by extras on the sets of films and TV shows.