While Hollywood cheered the announcement of a new labor deal reached by AMPTP and IATSE negotiators, many of the union’s members were taking a “wait and see” approach until the fine details were available for review.
Eventually, the text of the full agreement was made public, in advance of a vote scheduled to take place between July 14-17, with results to be announced on July 18. The key terms include a 14.5% wage increase over three years, a $700 million contribution to IATSE’s health care and pension plans, and triple pay for workers whenever production days extend past 14 hours.
IATSE negotiators were also able to get studio commitments to provide increased transportation services and the presence of “on-set safety coordinators” in the wake of high-profile deaths attributed to unsafe working conditions on some production shoots.
The reaction from IATSE members has been mixed, with most praising the wage increases as a “step in the right direction.” Others are pointing to the triple pay provision for long work days as “a hefty penalty” that will discourage studios from extending work days to unreasonable lengths.
However, some members expressed frustration at the inability of negotiators to secure the long-stated goal of “12 hours on, 12 hours off” and obtain further protections from studios using AI to replace union jobs.
In the end, members are expected to approve the agreement, mindful of the bruising impact of last year’s strikes by writers and actors. Production activity in the Los Angeles area is mired in an epic slump, with the number of shoots falling by 40% from its “peak TV” levels.
As one IATSE member put it, “Everyone I’m talking to is basically like, ‘I’m signing this thing because we’re all getting crushed, I don’t have a choice financially.”
