New Contract For Teamsters Local 399 & Basic Crafts Includes Enhanced New-Media Pay Rates, More Funding For Pension & Health Plan

David Robb
·3 min read

The tentative agreement for a new three-year film and TV contract covering Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399 and the Basic Crafts includes higher wages, more overtime penalties and additional money for benefits to secure their pension and health plan. And for the first time, the new contract includes a budget-based new-media deal that eliminates the lowest rung on the pay scale.

The agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which was reached Friday, will be put to a ratification vote of the members next week. The Basic Crafts include IBEW Local 40, Studio Utility Employees Local 724, Studio Plumbers Local 78 and Studio Plasterers Local 755.

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“My marching orders were clear; to protect, preserve and improve the livelihood of our members,” said Lindsay Dougherty, the unions’ chief negotiator and Local 399’s recording secretary, business agent and organizer. “Our members are the boots on the ground, and our members’ involvement in negotiations brought power to the bargaining table. I am proud to report that every member of our rank-and-file bargaining committee is unanimously recommending the tentative agreement for ratification.”

“It’s not enough for the studios to say they value the time and hard work of our members,” she said. “This tentative agreement has included gains that demonstrate the studios’ commitment to address some of our core issues. Ultimately, the membership will be the final say on the ratification of this tentative agreement.”

The “Black Book” agreement for Local 399 covers drivers, animal trainers/handlers, wranglers, dispatchers, mechanics and auto-service workers employed in the film and TV industry in the 13 Western states.

Local 399 told its members that “for the first time in the Hollywood Basic Crafts history, the tentative agreement includes a budget-based New Media side letter that only includes reference to the top two wage rates: episodic and full feature in Streaming Video on Demand programming. The Hollywood Basic Crafts have been bargaining one-off individual New Media deals with the studios based on the budget thresholds to cover members on productions for over the past 10 years.”

“We have been holding the line against agreeing to low wages on New Media productions in our ‘Black Book’ Agreement for almost a decade,” Dougherty said. “I am grateful for this step in the right direction towards making our members whole by paying fair wages for equal work on productions we know can afford it.”

Local 399 told its members that the economic gains include 3% wage increases retroactive to last August 1; an additional $10 per day in meal money ($50 total); $3 cell phone allowance added per day; and Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday.

Working conditions improvements include triple time after 16 elapsed hours, while golden time at 2½ times regular pay after 14 hours remains the same. To discourage shortened weekend turnarounds, the deal provides that members will get 54 hours off or be paid additional overtime for the invaded time.

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