IATSE members lost nearly one million pension and health plan eligibility hours during the Commercial Actors strike, according to a report from the Motion Picture Industry Plans that compared the Third Quarter in 1999 to the same time in the year 2000. Benefits of individual IATSE members in the Pension, Health and Welfare Plans are dependent upon hours worked during specific calendar periods.
“These statistics show very clearly how a work stoppage effects everyone in the industry, and not just the unions who call for a strike,” commented President Thomas C. Short.
Covered under the IATSE Commercial Agreement and impacted by the work slowdown were members of all 21 West Coast Studio Locals, representing approximately 25,000 IATSE members. Statistics were not available for other areas that were affected by the strike, however IATSE members were also affected in New York, Chicago, the Mid-West, Southeast and Southwest areas of the country.
