LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Hollywood narrowly avoided a major strike Monday, as members of IATSE, which represents so-called "below the line" television and film workers, voted to ratify two contracts with major studios and streaming services.
The agreements were agreed up in a razor-thin vote by members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts — and address a number of issues including quality-of-life, rest and meal breaks and raises for all members.
“From start to finish, from preparation to ratification, this has been a democratic process to win the very best contracts,” IATSE international president Matthew Loeb said in a statement.
“The vigorous debate, high turnout, and close election, indicates we have an unprecedented movement-building opportunity to educate members on our collective bargaining process and drive more participation in our union long-term.”
IATSE's Basic Hollywood and Area Standards agreements are with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the trade group that represents producers, major studios and streaming services, IATSE said.
Turnout for the vote was high, with 72% of the 63,209 members eligible to vote casting ballots. The combined vote on the agreements was 359 to 282, out of 641 total delegate votes from the 36 local unions eligible. For the Basic Agreement the vote was 256 voting yes to 188 no and for the Area Standards Agreement the yes vote was 103 to 94 no votes, IATSE said in a statement.
“Our goal was to achieve fair contracts that work for IATSE members in television and film—that address quality-of-life issues and conditions on the job like rest and meal breaks,” Loeb said.
“We met our objectives for this round of bargaining and built a strong foundation for future agreements.”
Each of the three-year contracts contains provisions that will guarantee "adequate rest at the end of the workday and on the weekend" along with meal breaks during the workday and "stiff financial penalties if the break periods are violated."
In addition, the contracts include across-the-board wage increases - which IATSE said will "dramatically lift those at the bottom of the pay scale from poverty to a living wage."
Negotiations for both agreements began in May, but broke off in September - with some producers refusing to even discuss some of the union demands.
To read the full statement on Monday's decision, click here.
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