Following a caucus week, negotiations between the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) resumed Monday, with talks entering a new phase where each of IATSE’s 13 West Coast Studio Locals (WCSL) individually negotiate their Locals’ craft specific issues with the studios. This phase of the process is expected to last from March 18 to April 26.
In an effort to ensure each of these 13 local unions has sufficient time to negotiate with the AMPTP ahead of the resumption of the Hollywood Basic Agreement General Negotiations and the start of the IATSE-AMPTP Area Standards Agreement Negotiations, two locals will negotiate simultaneously at any given time.
On Monday March 18th, the International Cinematographer’s Guild (IATSE Local 600) and the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) each began their individual negotiations with the studios. The Motion Picture Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700) and IATSE Local 729 are expected to begin their negotiations with the AMPTP later in the week.
IATSE International Vice President Mike Miller commented, “The work that the Locals did to prepare each of their Negotiating Committees, which included town hall meetings, member surveys, bargaining trainings and one-on-one conversations, is unprecedented. The process identified clear priorities and helped develop the proposals that the Locals’ members want addressed by the employers.”
IATSE’s negotiations have generated a historic level of solidarity in the United States and abroad. On March 3, a joint ‘Many Crafts, One Fight’ rally in Los Angeles saw thousands of union members across the Hollywood labor movement unite in support of behind-the-scenes workers. During the Oscars telecast March 10, a salute to the negotiations of the behind-the-scenes unions stopped the show. Finally, on March 14, UNI Global Union, which represents 20 million service workers worldwide in 150 countries, including 500,000 workers in over 100 unions and guilds in the media, entertainment and arts sector, issued a statement of support for IATSE’s ongoing negotiations.
