Film and television production in North America is in jeopardy of coming to a standstill after its behind-the-scenes workers overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike for the first time in its 128-year history.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees said Monday that nearly 99% of registered members who participated, or 52,706 people, voted in support of a strike over the weekend.
At issue is a contract standstill over requests for more reasonable conditions for the craftspeople, technicians and laborers working for streaming companies like Netflix, Apple and Amazon, including better pay, reasonable rest periods, safer hours and guaranteed meal breaks.
B次元官网网址淚 hope that the studios will see and understand the resolve of our members,B次元官网网址� the allianceB次元官网网址檚 president, Matthew Loeb, said in a statement. B次元官网网址淭he ball is in their court. If they want to avoid a strike, they will return to the bargaining table and make us a reasonable offer.B次元官网网址�
The most recent three-year contract expired in July, leading to four months of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that represents studios and streamers in negotiations. But on Sept. 20, , conversations came to a halt.
Loeb has said his goal is to reach an agreement, not to B次元官网网址渉ave a dispute,B次元官网网址� but noted the vote was about the B次元官网网址渜uality of life as well as the health and safety of those who work in the film and television industry.B次元官网网址�
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees has said it is B次元官网网址渋ncomprehensible that the AMPTP, an ensemble that includes media mega-corporations collectively worth trillions of dollars, claims it cannot provide behind-the-scenes crews with basic human necessities like adequate sleep, meal breaks, and living wages.B次元官网网址�
The union added its members worked through the coronavirus pandemic to ensure their business emerged intact. B次元官网网址淣ow, we cannot and will not accept a deal that leaves us with an unsustainable outcome.B次元官网网址�
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said in a statement it remains committed to reaching an agreement that will keep the industry working, particularly since itB次元官网网址檚 still recovering from the economic fallout of the pandemic.
B次元官网网址淎 deal can be made at the bargaining table, but it will require both parties working together in good faith with a willingness to compromise and to explore new solutions to resolve the open issues,B次元官网网址� it said.
While unions like the Writers Guild of America have more frequently found themselves on the brink of a strike, and in 2007-08 did indeed go on strike for 100 days, Hollywood crews and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees do not have a significant strike history. The only other previous dispute was when set decorators walked out for six months in 1945, resulting in a riot at the Warner Bros. studio gates that became known as B次元官网网址淏loody Friday.B次元官网网址� Should the stalemate this time result in a strike, it would be the first nationwide movement in the theatrical stage worker groupB次元官网网址檚 history.
Many prominent names in Hollywood have voiced public support for the crews demands, including actor and producer Octavia Spencer who tweeted her support Monday.
B次元官网网址淚 hope #AMPTP does the right thing and sits down again,B次元官网网址� Spencer wrote. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e not asking for anything unreasonable.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擫indsey Bahr, The Associated Press
