Protect a Vital American Industry from Going Dark
The American film and television industry is more than just entertainment — it’s a powerful economic engine that supports hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, fuels small businesses, and promotes American culture around the globe.
But today, this industry faces an urgent threat from international competition.
Foreign governments have successfully lured film and television productions, and the multitude of jobs they create, away from the United States with aggressive tax incentives and subsidies. Films intended for initial release in the U.S. are increasingly being shot overseas — and American workers are paying the price.
The United States is Falling Behind
In just two years, IATSE members have lost tens of thousands of jobs across the United States. That’s thousands of families, small businesses, and communities across the country feeling the economic hardship of a shrinking industry.
Movies and television shows created primarily for U.S. audiences are being produced abroad — not because of better talent or technology, but because other countries recognize the value of these productions and are offering robust financial incentives that the U.S. simply doesn’t match. While U.S. states have offered tax credits for production, generating billions in local economic output and creating thousands of jobs, in recent years state incentives have not been enough to prevent productions from moving overseas.
Without a comprehensive federal policy response, the U.S. risks turning its back on a signature American industry.
The Federal Government Must Level the Playing Field for U.S. Workers
IATSE is pursuing all policy measures that can be implemented to return and maintain U.S. film and television jobs, while not disadvantaging our Canadian kin.
Federal policymakers must act to level the playing field and make the U.S. film and television industry more competitive on the global stage, either through a federal incentive or other measures to spur domestic production.
IATSE calls on U.S. federal policymakers to:
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The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees or IATSE (full name: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada), is a labor union representing over 170,000 technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live events, motion picture and television production, broadcast, and trade shows in the United States and Canada.
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