Research Snapshot:
2025 Membership Survey

We’re sharing initial survey results in this research snapshot as the project continues. A full report with recommendations will follow upon completion.

Click the button below to review:

2025 Membership Survey Research Snapshot

We are seeking BIPOC and women-identifying interview participants

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We are seeking BIPOC and women-identifying interview participants *

Share Your Experience

Understanding Working Lives of BIPOC and Women Movie Workers:
A Collaborative Research Project

This project, led by NABET 700-M Unifor’s Black, Indigenous and Workers of Colour (BIWOC) Committee in collaboration with York University researchers, aims to better understand the demographic makeup and work experiences of NABET technicians. It includes two key components: a statistical survey for Members and Permittees, and an interview survey focusing on the experiences of BIPOC women-identifying film technicians. The results will help improve labour practices on union sets and inform educational programs on anti-racism, anti-harassment, and labour rights.

Participate in the research

$100 honorarium • flexible scheduling • confidential participation

Help inform anti-racism, anti-harassment, and labour-rights education.

Become a participant →

Project Team

This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through the York University Research Ethics Board (Project #4534).  

Frequently Asked Questions

Project Overview

  • This project is intended to develop a better understanding of the demographic makeup of NABET 700-M UNIFOR and the experiences and working conditions of our current members and permittees. This project has two main components: 1) a statistical survey for NABET members and permittees; 2) an interview survey that focuses on work experiences of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) women-identifying film technicians. Research results will contribute to enhancing equitable labour practices on union sets and develop educational programs on anti-racism, anti-harassment, and labour rights.

  • This project is being conducted through NABET 700-M UNIFOR, in partnership with researchers from York University.  It is a NABET BIWOC Committee initiative, with the support of the NABET executive board.

    The project team includes:

    • Bernice Manalo (Training and Program Coordinator)

    • Samantha Rice (Senior Vice President and Chair of the BIWOC Committee)

    • Nicole Matthews (Office Manager)

    • Esha Khan (Co-Chair of the BIWOC Committee)

    • Dr. Tracy Ying Zhang (Principal Investigator, York University)

    • Lokchi Lam (Research Assistant, York University)

    • Angela Stigliano (Research Assistant, York University)

    Bernice Manalo and York University researchers will lead the statistical survey. The interview survey will be carried out by York University researchers only. This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through the York University Research Ethics Board (Project #4534).

  • The majority of the funding for this project is coming from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Engage grant. NABET 700-M UNIFOR will make some in-kind contributions through assistance from the office, including providing meeting space, as well as a small financial contribution (e.g., prizes for survey draw and subscription to the survey platform) from the BIWOC Committee’s operating budget, which has also been approved by the Executive Board.

  • NABET will be hosting an in-person launch event/Q&A panel/information sesion with the York University researchers. This is the perfect opportunity to meet the team, ask questions, and address any concerns you may have. All Members and Permittees are welcome.

Demographic Survey

  • The survey is intended to help NABET develop a better sense of the union membership and technicians’ experiences in the workplace. It is important to know who is in our union so that NABET can provide needed services and ensure members and permittees are able to raise concerns and feel that they are being represented. We also want to know if our existing outreach, training, and sponsorship activities are working, and how new members connect with the union. We will be left with the structure and capacity to continue running this survey in the future, which will help us track trends over time.

  • Survey questions will ask about members’ and permittees’ employment experiences, participation in the union, workplace related challenges, and demographic data such as educational background, language, gender, ethnicity, race, sexuality, and age.

  • The survey will be sent out over email, but responses will not be connected to respondents’ email addresses – so all survey findings will be delinked from specific individuals. The survey will not ask for any personal identifiers. A list of survey respondents will be generated to carry out a draw for prizes, but this will not be connected to the actual responses. Only the NABET office and York University researchers will see the list of respondents, and this list will be destroyed following the draw for prizes.

  • The data from the membership survey will be stored electronically in a secure server at NABET, presented in a collective description.

  • The survey is intended to capture a representative sample of the overall membership of NABET 700-M UNIFOR. However, trying to get all 2,600+ technicians to answer a survey (or to get that many people anywhere to do anything!) is challenging, so we are instead asking a randomly selected sample of members and permittees to fill out the survey. The idea is that this will prevent biases that might come from self-selection. In doing so, the responses from a smaller portion of the membership can be extrapolated to give a sense of the union as a whole.

  • The research team uses a “random sampling method” to select survey participants from the mailing list of all members and permittees. Each member or permittee is assigned a unique number, and those selected are drawn from a random number generator. The researchers send the survey to 380 selected participants to develop a representative sample.

  • The findings from the survey will be made available to all members and permittees, in the form of digital snapshots and a research report. Research results will contribute to improving union-based services and professional development programs. It’s important to know what the demographic makeup of our local is to inform how the union can efficiently implement policies and allocate resources for training, benefits, sponsorship, and outreach activities.

    Respondents will be entered in a draw to win one of three $100 gift cards, as a thank you for their participation.

Interviews

  • While the statistical survey hopes to capture the experiences of the overall membership, interviews will focus on the specific working conditions of BIPOC women within the union. These will try to draw attention to structural barriers and/or discriminatory practices in the workplace. Research results will raise public awareness of the employment of historically marginalized workers in the screen industries.

  • BIPOC and women-identifying NABET members and permittees from any of our 14 departments. We also invite BIPOC men from the male-dominated departments to participate.

  • Interviews will be carried out by the York University researchers. Dr. Tracy Ying Zhang, as the Principal Investigator (PI), along with research assistants, Lokchi Lam and Angela Stigliano, will be the only ones present with interviewees.

  • Yes. All the interviews will be digitally recorded by a voice recorder only.   

  • While NABET research team partners will be involved in recruitment, participants will contact only the York University researchers by email. NABET will not know who has agreed to participate. The data collected will be anonymized and electronically stored in an encrypted secure server at York University that only the York University researchers have access to.

  • Participants will be asked for two sessions. The first will take about 40-60 minutes, and the second will be about 90 minutes. The two interviews will be about a month apart.

  • You can drop out at any time! We will let you know the questions ahead of time so you won’t feel on-the-spot during the interviews, and will check in about any information you would like omitted at the end of the session. After each interview, you will have one month to decide if you want your information to be excluded from the study.

  • Participants will have an opportunity to express their views and concerns relating to the research topic. Each participant will receive a total of $100 honorarium ($50 for the first interview and $50 for the second interview). Results will help generate a research report and recommendations, which will assist the union to develop targeted professional development opportunities and workplace-based interventions supporting BIPOC women members. Participants will receive a digital copy of the research report.

  • If you meet the criteria for participation, and want to participate, we would love to have you! Please email yorku.nabet@yorku.ca to get in touch with the York University researchers.

This project requires the assistance and cooperation of every NABET technician. Even if you’re not a survey respondent or an interviewee, your support is vital to this project’s success.