Hollywood Union Strike Could Bring Movie and Television Production to a Halt as Soon as Monday

After months of negotiating the trade union, IATSE (the International Alliance of Theater and Stage Employees) has been unable to reach an agreement with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers), which represents major film and television production companies. IATSE represents over 150,000 technicians, artisans, and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, motion picture and television production, and trade shows in the United States and Canada.

This morning, IATSE president Matthew D. Loeb took to his Twitter account to announce that 60,000 members of the trade union will begin striking on Monday should talks continue to stall with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

An AMPTP spokesman said in a statement that the studios will stay at the bargaining table in hopes of avoiding a strike.

IATSE claims that throughout the bargaining process, the AMPTP has failed to work with them on addressing the most grievous problems in their workplaces, including:

Excessively unsafe and harmful working hours.
Unlivable wages for the lowest paid crafts.
Consistent failure to provide reasonable rest during meal breaks, between workdays, and on weekends.

Workers on certain “new media” streaming projects get paid less, even on productions with budgets that rival or exceed those of traditionally released blockbusters.

In a statement from IATSE the union said, “These issues are real for the workers in our industry, and change is long overdue. However, the explosion of streaming combined with the pandemic has elevated and aggravated working conditions, bringing 60,000 behind-the-scenes workers covered by these contracts to a breaking point. We risked our health and safety all year, working through the Pandemic to ensure that our business emerged intact. Now, we cannot and will not accept a deal that leaves us with an unsustainable outcome.”

Nationwide strike authorization votes were held from October 1 to 3. IATSE members voted 98.68 percent in favor of authorizing a strike, with ballots cast by 89.66 percent of eligible voters. Afterwards, on October 4, IATSE president Matthew Loeb said “I hope that the studios will see and understand the resolve of our members … The ball is in their court.” The AMPTP said in a statement that it “remains committed to reaching an agreement that will keep the industry working”.

Talks between the AMPTP and IATSE resumed on October 5 and continued through October 13. On October 9, Loeb informed IATSE members that either a deal or a strike would happen in “a matter of days, not weeks”. The national executive director of the Editors Guild, Cathy Repola, said on October 12 that “the pace of negotiations does not reflect the urgency of the situation … the employers repeatedly refuse to do what it will take to achieve a fair deal”. Barring a last-minute deal, the IATSE is set to begin its strike on October 18; a spokesman for the AMPTP said that with “five days left to reach a deal … the studios will continue to negotiate in good faith in an effort to reach an agreement for a new contract that will keep the industry working.”

Disclosure: This article was written by Morty, a retired member of IATSE.