Save the FITP

(Sorry about the CAPS. I didn't write this thing, but the message is important enough to overlook them.)

IMPORTANT ALERT! SAVE THE FITP! IMPORTANT ALERT! You need to do this TODAY, Tuesday Feb. 21st:

THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT IS ABOUT TO PULL THE PLUG ON THE FILM INDUSTRY TRAINING PROGRAM! THE FUTURE OF THE FITP WILL BE DECIDED DURING A WORK SESSION OF THE DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE THIS COMING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2012 AT 11:00AM IN ROOM 2600 OF THE LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING IN HARTFORD.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE MEETING IS CLOSED AND THERE WILL BE NO PUBLIC TESTIMONY ALLOWED. THIS IS VERY UNFAIR BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE FITP!

WE ARE ASKING EVERYONE TO SEND URGENT EMAILS TO GOVERNOR MALLOY, STATE OFFICIALS, AND MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE YOUR OWN WORDS, BUT BELOW ARE A FEW PARAGRAPHS TO HELP YOU WRITE YOUR EMAILS. (THE EMAIL ADDRESSES ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE):

1.) The FITP was founded in 2008 and has been administered by the Office of Workforce Competitiveness (OWC). When Governor Malloy took office, he transferred OWC from the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to the Department of Labor (DOL) along with the funding allocated for a 2012 FITP. The DOL Commissioner recently testified that he does not want the FITP and that he will eliminate the program and keep the money. It is shocking that our labor commissioner does not even care about growing the Connecticut labor force in the film, television, and digital media industry!!

2.) The FITP works hand in glove with the Connecticut motion picture tax credits and is essential to further growth in this industry. The FITP website has received 200 inquiries about a 2012 program and with the state film tax credits still attracting many projects to shoot here, now is NOT the time to discontinue workforce education!

3.) Over the four years of the FITP’s existence, graduates have worked continually in this freelance industry. They have consistently and aggressively sought union or non-union professional experience wherever available, whether paid, voluntary, or internship in nature. Some FITP graduates have found long-term positions with well-known studios and production companies

4.) A recent statistical analysis documented almost 12,000 days of freelance work generated by the FITP during its four years of existence. In 2011, the total number of FITP days worked more than doubled the total days worked for the previous three years of the program. This represents a significant jump in the growth of the film industry workforce in Connecticut and the statistics do not even include the established professional workforce already existing in the state! We have over 200 emails asking for applications for a 2012 FITP. This great program is just starting to produce results! Now is not the time to end it!

5.) The Connecticut FITP has proven remarkably successful, creating a comprehensive learning experience designed to be completely relevant to actual work in this growing industry. The FITP has made significant progress toward perfecting a formula for a successful workforce teaching modality. The program has been reviewed in several film journal articles as “the best in the country.”

PLEASE SEND YOUR EMAILS TO THE FOLLOWING STATE OFFICIALS. SIMPLY COPY EACH ADDRESS AND DROP IT INTO THE "TO:" BOX AT THE TOP OF YOUR EMAIL. NOTE: IT WILL BE MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE TO SEND EACH EMAIL INDIVIDUALLY, RATHER THAN AS A "BLAST" TO ALL THE NAMES BELOW. THESE ARE IMPORTANT PEOPLE WHO WILL RESPOND BETTER IF THEY ARE TREATED RESPECTFULLY.

IT IS VITAL THAT YOU SEND YOUR EMAIL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. (MONDAY IS A HOLIDAY AND THE COMMITTEE MEETS ON WEDNESDAY AT 11AM)


Governor.Malloy@cga.ct.gov GOVERNOR

Glenn.Marshall@ct.gov COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Catherine.Smith@ct.gov COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

George.Norfleet@ct.gov DIRECTOR, CT OFFICE OF FILM, TELEVISION, AND DIGITAL MEDIA


DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE #5

Bob.Duff@cga.ct.gov CHAIRPERSON

Bryan.Hurlburt@cga.ct.gov CHAIRPERSON

Joe.Markley@cga.ct.gov

Craig.Miner@cga.ct.gov

Charles.Clemons@cga.ct.gov

Peter.Villano@cga.ct.gov

Gregory.Haddad@cga.ct.gov

Roberta.Willis@cga.ct.gov

Patricia.Miller@cga.ct.gov

Whit.Betts@housegop.ct.gov

Sandy.Nafis@cga.ct.gov

Tony.Hwang@cga.ct.gov

Kevin.Ryan@cga.ct.gov

Themis.Klarides@housegop.ct.gov

Diana.Urban@cga.ct.gov

Andrew.Maynard@cga.ct.gov

IF YOU VALUE YOUR FITP EXPERIENCE AND WANT TO HELP OTHER CT RESIDENTS RECEIVE THE WORKFORCE EDUCATION YOU HAD, PLEASE TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO WRITE EMAILS TO EACH OF THE ABOVE STATE OFFICIALS. SINCE WE CANNOT SPEAK TO THEM IN PERSON, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN VOICE SUPPORT FOR THE FITP. THIS IS LITERALLY THE 11TH HOUR AND THE FITP WILL DISAPPEAR WITHOUT YOUR HELP. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED HELP, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO savethefitp@optimum.net. WE WILL RESPOND PROMPTLY. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

SAVE THE FITP! SAVE THE FITP! SAVE THE FITP!