LOS ANGELES – IATSE announced Monday that it has reached an agreement with the producers of Beast Games season 3. The contract covers more than 500 crew members working on the production, which is based in Greenville, N.C. Members working on the production will receive back pay and benefits for pre-production work that has already been completed and will remain covered by this agreement for this season and subsequent seasons.
The last season of the competition-style reality series was made under IATSE agreements, but producers started production of the third season non-union. As a result, IATSE members and Locals across the United States made a collective push to organize this large-scale production, which was co-created and is hosted by YouTube personality MrBeast.
“Organizing season three of Beast Games boiled down to IATSE solidarity in this difficult production environment,” said Michael F. Miller, Jr., Department Director of Motion Picture & Television Production Department. “As employment in our industry continues to face challenges from predatory employers looking to take advantage of the industry contraction, our members and their Local leaders are showing that they have the strength to stand together to maintain standards in the face of repeated attacks on their livelihoods by greedy employers.”
This development is the latest in a growing string of organizing efforts in entertainment sectors that have traditionally lacked union representation, including social media and YouTube channels, video games, visual effects, and other digital and interactive media. Workers in these fields face many of the same challenges as “traditional” film and television production crews, including long hours, unstable employment, and limited benefits.
By bringing collective bargaining to these spaces, IATSE is helping set standards for fair pay, safety, and respect as the industry continues shifting and adopting new distribution models. Entertainment workers interested in unionizing their workplace can visit iatse.net/join to contact an organizer.
