Following a day of in-person negotiations, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 695 reached a tentative agreement on the Locals’ craft-specific issues, Monday. IATSE International Vice President Mike Miller commented, “I applaud the leadership shown by Local 695’s Negotiating Committee. Their work to prepare thoroughly for this round of negotiations helped pave the way for this tentative agreement.”
Last week, it was announced that Locals 600, 800, and 729 had also reached tentative agreements during the first week of IATSE Local Negotiations. As of today, four of thirteen West Coast Studio Locals’ have tentatively addressed their craft specific issues in talks with the AMPTP. More information regarding these Local agreements will be provided to members by their Local Unions once Memorandums of Agreement have been formally drafted by the lawyers of both parties and submitted to the corresponding Local for approval.
However, it is important to note the process is not complete until the conclusion of Basic Agreement General Negotiations, which cover issues that affect all IATSE members who work under the Basic Agreement. In other words, members should expect the Local agreements to be only part of the overall package to come in the General negotiations, which are not expected to begin until May at the earliest.
Talks continue this week with Local 80 starting its in-person negotiations with employers Tuesday, Local 706 is scheduled to start on Wednesday March 27, and Local 700 is set to resume its negotiations later this week. The remaining IATSE West Coast Studio Locals (WCSL) will continue bargaining with the AMPTP on their craft-specific proposals in the coming weeks as part of a phase of the overall Basic Agreement negotiation process. Local negotiations began on March 18 and are expected to last through April 26.
Finally, IATSE is calling on ALL film and tv sisters, brothers, and kin to participate in #OneFightFridays, and wear union swag each Friday for the remainder of the negotiations to visually showcase our power and unity across the country.
