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Donna Younger of IATSE Native 700 Movement Image Editors Guild, writes a message of honest wages for all on a union members automotive throughout a rally on the Movement Image Editors Guild IATSE Native 700 on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA.
Myung J. Chun | Los Angeles Occasions | Getty Photographs
Hollywood’s backstage union employees voted overwhelmingly to authorize an industry-wide strike.
The Worldwide Alliance of Theatrical Stage Staff stated 90% of eligible voters forged ballots over the weekend, with greater than 98% in assist of strike authorization.
“The members have spoken loud and clear,” Matthew Loeb, president of IATSE, stated in a press release Monday. “This vote is concerning the high quality of life in addition to the well being and security of those that work within the movie and tv {industry}. Our individuals have fundamental human wants like time for meal breaks, sufficient sleep, and a weekend. For these on the backside of the pay scale, they deserve nothing lower than a residing wage.“
The vote comes after months of failed negotiations between the union and the Alliance of Movement Image and Tv Producers, which represents main movie and tv manufacturing firms.
This determination permits IATSE to provoke a strike ought to talks with AMPTP stay stalled. That is the primary time in IATSE’s 128-year historical past that members of the union have licensed a nationwide strike.
In a press release, AMPTP stated it remained dedicated to reaching an settlement that may preserve the {industry} working.
“We deeply worth our IATSE crew members and are dedicated to working with them to keep away from shutting down the {industry} at such a pivotal time, notably for the reason that {industry} continues to be recovering from the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic,” the group stated.
IATSE represents a large swath of {industry} employees, from studio mechanics to wardrobe and make-up artists. In whole, it acts on behalf of 150,000 crew members within the U.S. and Canada. Round 60,000 of these are coated by the present TV and movie contracts being renegotiated.
The union has been advocating for higher working hours, safer office circumstances and improved advantages.
“I hope that the studios will see and perceive the resolve of our members,” Loeb stated. “The ball is of their court docket. In the event that they need to keep away from a strike, they’ll return to the bargaining desk and make us an affordable provide.”
The AMPTP stated reaching a deal “would require each events working collectively in good religion with a willingness to compromise and to discover new options to resolve the open points.”
Its contract with AMPTP, which went into impact in 2018, ended July 31 and was prolonged till Sept. 10. IATSE is looking for a brand new three-year settlement that might give behind-the-scenes employees greater pay, meal breaks, improved contributions to well being and pension plans and a much bigger minimize of earnings from streaming productions.
These calls for come on the heels of 1 probably the most tumultuous occasions within the {industry}, as productions labored via a world pandemic to make sure studios had content material to ship to customers.
The pandemic has additionally irrevocably modified the manufacturing ecosystem. For 18 months, customers have been caught at house watching TV exhibits and films. This increase in viewership has given streaming companies reminiscent of Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video large positive aspects in subscriptions and subscription charges.
It has additionally led these platforms to hunt out extra content material and bolster its quantity of manufacturing. This implies IATSE employees have been referred to as upon to work extra hours because the variety of tasks will increase, however compensation just isn’t maintaining with this demand, the union stated.
In fact, studios additionally confronted powerful monetary choices throughout the pandemic, as film theaters had been shuttered for almost six months and, even after they did reopen, moviegoers had been gradual to return. Many firms opted to launch movies in theaters and on streaming companies on the identical time. Whereas this helped increase subscription numbers, it in the end led to a cannibalization of box-office gross sales.
An industrywide strike would basically cease Hollywood manufacturing in its tracks, much like what the author’s strike did 14 years in the past. That strike, between 2007 and 2008, led many exhibits to shorten or postpone new seasons and led to the cancellation of others.
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