Crisis in Hollywood averted as IATSE strike is avoided, for now

Matthew Allen
·4 min read

Production crew members have reached a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers after threatening to strike over wages and working conditions.

An agreement was reached between IATSE and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) shortly before the IATSE was to begin an Oct. 18 strike.

But how long will the peace last?

The IASTE, a union comprised of over 150,000 film and television production workers, including grips, gaffers, editors, and designers, initially agreed to engage a full work stoppage at midnight Sunday, as reported by Variety. With 98 percent of the 60,000 members affected by the contracts agreeing to strike, it would’ve effectively put countless productions in Hollywood on an indefinite hold.

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Negotiations with the AMPTP over successor contracts stalled at first. The IASTE issued a statement on its official website, disclosing its demands and issues with the AMPTP. Grievances included “excessively unsafe and harmful working hours,” receiving “unlivable wages” and “consistent failure to provide reasonable rest during meal breaks.”

“We risked our health and safety all year, working through the Pandemic to ensure that our business emerged intact,” read the statement. “Now, we cannot and will not accept a deal that leaves us with an unsustainable outcome.”

The terms of the three-year agreement reached on Oct. 16 were disclosed by the IASTE. They were able to achieve the following:

  • Achievement of a living wage for the lowest-paid earners

  • Improved wages and working conditions for streaming

  • Retroactive wage Increases of 3 percent annually

  • Increased meal period penalties

  • Daily rest periods of 10 hours without exclusions

  • Weekend rest periods of 54 hours

  • Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday holiday added to schedule

  • Adoption of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives

Mike Miller, Vice President and Motion Picture Director for IATSE, spoke of the new agreement, “Our members will see significant improvements, but our employers also will benefit. This settlement allows pre-production, production and post-production to continue without interruption. Workers should have improved morale and be more alert. Health and safety standards have been upgraded.”

While the agreement is an improvement, it still needs to be ratified by IASTE members, and numerous members are not satisfied with the terms of the tentative deal. Although members will return to work for the time being, ratification voting won’t happen for several weeks, and some have voiced their displeasure.

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Ernesto Lomeli, a Los Angeles-based director of photography, states that working condition issues have not been addressed. As it stands, the agreement calls for a 54-hour weekend with a 10-hour turnaround time between shifts. Lomeli doubts anyone will vote to ratify the deal. “Basically nothing has changed,” Lomeli said. “I have not heard a single person saying they will vote yes.”

A bullseye was put on IASTE last year by high profile Black and Latino stars, who criticized it and white-owned theaters for not employing more BIPOC below-the-line workers and having substandard working conditions. The statement was signed by prominent actors including Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Cynthia Erivo, Sterling K. Brown and Brian Tyree Henry.

“About theaters, executive leaders, critics, casting directors, agents, unions, commercial producers, universities, and training programs. You are a part of this house of cards built on white fragility and supremacy. And this is a house that will not stand,” read the statement.

In a joint statement, International President Matthew Loeb and General Secretary Treasurer James Woods said they would “reshape” the union, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. “We acknowledge that we have not always lived up to our own values and ideals of unionism, through our action, inaction, apathy, and at times ambivalence.”

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