Hollywood film-crew union reaches tentative deal, averting strike
17/10/2021 02:11
By Lisa Richwine and Bhargav Acharya
LOS ANGELES, Oct 16 (Reuters) - A union that represents
about 60,000 behind-the-scenes workers in film and television
reached a tentative deal with producers on Saturday, averting a
strike that threatened to cause widespread disruption in
Hollywood, negotiators said.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
(IATSE), which includes camera operators, make-up artists, sound
technicians and others, said negotiators agreed to a new
three-year contract.
"This is a Hollywood ending," Matthew Loeb, president of the
union, said in an emailed statement. "Our members stood firm.
They're tough and united."
Shutdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic had caused a production
backlog that led to crews working up to 14 hours a day to feed
programming to streaming services.
The union had threatened to strike starting Monday if it was
unable to reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture
and Television Producers (AMPTP).
A strike would have shut down film and television production
around the United States in the biggest stoppage since the
2007-2008 strike by Hollywood screenwriters. It would have hit a
wide range of media companies including Netflix Inc NFLX.O ,
Walt Disney Co DIS.N and Comcast Corp CMCSA.O .
IATSE was seeking to reduce working hours and raise the pay
of members who work on shows for streaming platforms, where
lower rates were set 10 years ago when online video was in its
infancy.
IATSE, in its statement, said the proposed contract
addresses those issues, including rest periods, meal breaks, a
living wage for those on the bottom of the pay scale, and
significant increases in compensation to be paid by new-media
companies.
The new labor agreement is subject to approval by IATSE's
membership.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by
Leslie Adler)
((lisa.richwine@thomsonreuters.com; Follow me on Twitter
@LARichwine; 1-424-434-7324; Reuters Messaging:
lisa.richwine.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))