Film, TV workers set to strike

As in other industries, many behindthe-scenes people started reevaluating their lives and the demands of their professions during the pandemic.

LOS ANGELES — The union representing film and television crews says its 60,000 members will begin a nationwide strike on Monday if it does not reach a deal that satisfies demands for fair and safe working conditions.

A strike would bring a halt to filming on a broad swath of film and television productions and extend well beyond Hollywood, affecting productions in Georgia, New Mexico and other North American shoots.

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees International President Matthew Loeb said Wednesday that the strike would begin at 12:01 a.m. Monday unless an agreement is reached on rest and meal periods and pay for its lowest-paid workers.

Loeb cited a lack of urgency in the pace of negotiations for setting a strike date.

“Without an end date, we could keep talking forever,” Loeb said in a statement. “Our members deserve to have their basic needs addressed now.”

A strike would be a serious setback for an industry that had recently returned to work after long pandemic shutdowns and recurring aftershocks amid new outbreaks.

“There are five whole days left to reach a deal,” said Jarryd Gonzales, a publicist for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios and other entertainment companies in negotiations. “Studios will continue to negotiate in good faith in an effort to reach an agreement for a new contract that will keep the industry working.”

As in other industries, many behind-the-scenes people started reevaluating their lives and the demands of their professions during the pandemic. And now that production is ramping up again, union leaders say the “catch-up” is resulting in worse working conditions.

“Folks have reported working conditions deteriorating and being aggravated,” Jonas Loeb, IATSE’s director of communication said last week. “And these 60,000 behind the scenes workers that are under these contracts are really at a breaking point.”

It would be the first nationwide strike in the 128year history of IATSE, whose members include cinematographers, camera operators, set designers, carpenters, hair and makeup artists, animators and many others.