Steve Dayan Re-Elected in a Landslide to Head Hollywood Teamsters Local 399
Steve Dayan has been re-elected in a landslide as secretary-treasurer of Hollywood Local 399 of the Intl. Brotherhood of Teamsters over Mitch Masoner by 1,407 to 341.
Dayan has held the post — the top leadership slot at the local — for the past three years after topping Leo Reed, who had won eight consecutive three-year terms. Local 399 reps more than 4,500 drivers, location managers, animal wranglers, and casting directors, mostly in the Los Angeles area.
Dayan headed the “399 Members First” slate, which also elected Kenny Farnell for president, Ed Duffy for VP, and Rose Falcon for recording secretary, along with trustees Calvin McDowell, Armando Santana, and Gary Zuckerbrod. The slate touted its accomplishments with a “promises made, promises kept” slogan.
“I’m very grateful to the members and we promise to continue to work hard for them,” Dayan told Variety. The current three-year master contract for Local 399 expires on July 31, 2018.
The slate received an endorsement from Jim Hoffa, president of the Intl. Brotherhood of Teamsters. “Steve Dayan is a proven leader who is committed to the membership of Local 399,” Hoffa said in a letter to members. “Over the last 31 years as a member, organizer, business agent, and principle officer, he has excelled at them all. He delivers strong contracts, fights for all members, and is committed to protecting and preparing Local 399 for the future,”
Masoner’s “Strong and Reunited” slate ran Paul Schwanke for president with Gene Alford seeking the VP slot. They claimed that Dayan was out of touch with members. “He is a career politician whose main political motive is self-advancement not your welfare,” the site said.
Dayan is also current chairman of the California Film Commission, which administers the state’s production incentive program. The amount of tax credits in the program was expanded last year from $100 million to $330 million annually.
Before being elected as secretary-treasurer, Dayan had been a longtime business agent and organizer. He led a three-year campaign to successfully organize about 500 casting directors and associates in Hollywood and New York, leading to their first union contract in 2005.
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