The vote avoids an unprecedented strike action threatened by the union last month, but not all members are satisfied.
By James Whitbrook
Monday 5:20PM
Photo: Katalin Vermes/Netflix
After simmering tensions between studios and one of the biggest unions in the industry that threatened potential strike action last month, IATSE has ratified a new union contract after months of negotiations. But the vote also exposes just how divided IATSE’s members were over the new deal, which critics say doesn’t go far enough in protecting workers on set.
Variety reports that the new deal—which provides 54-hour weekend rest periods and a minimum of 10-hour turnarounds between shifts for all members, a 3% annual raise with increased pay for lowest-payed union members, and increases to pension and health plan funds—was voted on by 72% of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees’s union members. However, in spite of IATSE leadership painting the deal last month as a “Hollywood Ending,” voting on the new contract was incredibly close.
The Area Standards Agreement—the part of the contract that covers 23 local union shops across America—was voted for by 52% percent of members. The Basic Agreement—covering 13 West Coast-based IATSE locals—was actually voted against, with 50.4% of votes against the deal and 49.6% voting yes. However, as IATSE votes operate on a delegate system—akin to the way the Electoral College vote is used in U.S. politics—both agreements were ratified: 256 delegates voted for on the Basic Agreement, to 188 against, with the Area Standards Agreement going much closer with 103 for and 94 against.
“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 to press today (via Variety). “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.”
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In early October, 90% of IATSE members voted overwhelmingly to support strike action after the union’s ongoing contract negotiations had broken down. It brought a heightened public awareness to the harsh conditions faced by workers who help bring the biggest movies and TV shows to life, many of whom face incredibly long hours and little residuals for their work, especially in the world of streaming service productions. However, after IATSE penciled in strike action to begin on Monday, October 18, a last-minute deal reached the day beforehand saw the union back down
But while from the outside, and for Hollywood studios at least, disaster seemed to be averted, many IATSE members have spent the past month vociferously criticizing the deal, saying that its gains did not go far enough with the hindsight that the union had overwhelmingly pushed to leverage strike action as a negotiation tactic. Criticisms of the now-ratified deal noted that the contract doesn’t punish productions that overrun and cancel lunch breaks harshly enough—with only new punishments coming in after eight consecutive hours without a break and no changes to a previously-established six-hour penalty mark. Other criticisms noted that there were also missing streaming residuals for the updated pension and health plans, which had been a major target of criticism in the wake of the vote for strike action.
Those IATSE members have made their dissatisfaction clear in today’s vote results, with such a divided membership highlighting that gains made in the new deal aren’t enough for a large number of workers. However, that dissatisfied base is now unlikely to be able to secure more benefits for a while: a new round of bargaining on the contract won’t begin until 2024.
IATSE Members Approve New Contract By Razor-Thin Margin
November 15, 2021
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Thousands of Hollywood workers in the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union have approved a new contract, but only by a razor-thin margin.
The IATSE confirmed Monday that members approved a new three-year deal by a slim margin of just 50.3% voting yes, and 49.7% voting no. The deal was reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group which represents all major film and television companies.
The IATSE reports that turnout for the ratification vote was 72%.
The IATSE represents Hollywood TV and film workers like editors, camera operators, set designers, grips, electricians, make-up artists and graphic artists across the U.S. and Canada. The IATSE has a membership of about 63,000, with an estimated 47,000 of those based in the L.A. area.
The ratification vote was conducted among the union’s 13 locals on the West Coast, for the basic agreement, and with 23 locals elsewhere on the area standards agreement.
“From start to finish, from preparation to ratification, this has been a democratic process to win the very best contracts,” said IATSE International President Matthew Loeb 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.”
After bargaining for months, the two sides reached a tentative deal in mid-October, just two days before IATSE members would have walked off the job in what would have been a historic strike that likely would have shut down Hollywood.
Issues at stake included higher pay, better working conditions, stronger benefits and residuals from streaming services.
The IATSE said the new deal includes retroactive wage increases of 3% annually, improvements in pay and conditions on streaming productions, observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and a rest period of 10 hours between daily shoots, and 54 hours on weekends.
The vote also followed about three weeks after the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the film “Rust,” which sent shockwaves through the industry and also raised serious questions about safety and gun rules on film and television sets.
Some members had publicly said they would vote no, claiming the contract falls on short on providing basic safety measures. Last Thursday, about two dozen IATSE workers and supporters gathered outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood to express their opposition to the proposed contract. Some said it does not sufficiently improve working conditions, particularly in regard to long hours and on-set safety.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
IATSE declares contract ratified, even though majority voted against it
Hong Jian, Gabriel Black
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) announced Monday the ratification of its sellout labor agreement with Hollywood producers, despite the fact that the majority of its membership voted against it. The agreement covers over 60,000 workers central to film and television production.
I
Hong Jian, Gabriel Black
WSWS.ORG
a day ago
a day ago
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) announced Monday the ratification of its sellout labor agreement with Hollywood producers, despite the fact that the majority of its membership voted against it. The agreement covers over 60,000 workers central to film and television production.
ATSE picket (Source: Twitter/@southafricanone)
The “Basic Agreement” was voted down by 50.4 percent “No” to 49.6 percent “Yes” among the general membership. However, because IATSE uses an undemocratic electoral college-like “delegate system” in its contract votes, the union declared the contract passed by a margin of 256 voting “Yes” to 188 “No.” For the second, “Area Standards Agreement,” the delegate vote was 103 “Yes” to 94 “No.”
The narrow passage of this Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) is a culmination of the union’s efforts over the last six months to oppose, isolate and betray the struggle of film production workers. After being forced to work without a contract by the union for months, 98 percent of the membership, pushed to the brink by the inhuman conditions which pervade set-life, voted to strike at the beginning of October. Although IATSE eventually issued a 10-day strike notice, it continued working behind closed doors with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to avert a strike, which was called off at the last minute when the current deal was announced.
With consummate hypocrisy, IATSE declared to the press that it had arrived at a “Hollywood ending.” In truth, the contract was a rotten deal which did nothing to address the core demands of the workers.
The deal does nothing to eliminate the short turnarounds between shifts which leave workers exhausted, continues the so-called “Fraturdays” (working Friday through early Saturday morning), includes a 3 percent annual pay raise equivalent to a 3 percent wage cut with current inflation at 6 percent, and no guarantees of sufficient time to break for food and rest during a production shoot.
IATSE pressed forward with the sellout contract even after the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins in an accidental on-set shooting, which stemmed from the very conditions IATSE workers have been fighting against.
These maneuvers are part of a wider campaign by all unions to sabotage an “autumn offensive” in which the working class is attempting to fight back against decades of wage stagnation and unsafe working conditions.
The IATSE playbook was borrowed wholesale over the weekend by the health care unions at Kaiser Permanente, who called off a strike by 32,000 workers at the hospital chain in Southern California and a separate strike by 2,500 pharmacists in Northern California this weekend, both of which had been scheduled to begin Monday. The new contract in Southern California contains paltry 2 to 3 percent wage increases and a regressive attendance bonus, which discourages nurses from taking contractually allotted sick days.
On Friday, the UAW announced it was forcing a re-vote on virtually the same contract at John Deere which workers had rejected two weeks ago, in a bid to end the monthlong strike by 10,000 workers. Significantly, the announcement came only one day after charges were filed against yet another corrupt UAW official, who embezzled $16 million, which he blew on casinos in Detroit.
Workers know that conditions are more favorable now than they have been in decades for them to fight against these concessions. But the corporate-financial oligarchy, which has been making more money on the stock market than ever before over the course of the pandemic, is relying principally on the services of the unions to disrupt and betray this movement.
This is part of a broader strategy of the Biden administration, who dispatched two cabinet members to picket lines last month, to bolster the unions as a form of police guardianship over the working class. At the same time, the courts have granted several injunctions against pickets across the country, and the Biden administration has been publicly floating the idea of using the National Guard to relieve port congestion on the West Coast.
After the announcement of the tentative agreement, IATSE workers angrily took to social media to denounce the leadership, forming rank-and-file meetings to call for a “No” vote. As one worker wrote in response to IATSE’s announcement, “The Big Production and Streamers Bosses are breaking cigars with Union Bosses right now!”
When IATSE International President Matthew Loeb contemptuously told workers, “From start to finish, from preparation to ratification, this has been a democratic process to win the very best contracts,” workers responded angrily.
“Everyone leading IATSE should be ashamed of themselves,” wrote one. Another said, “I call shenanigans on that vote margin as well as turnout.” And another, “WILDCAT STRIKE.”
Earlier this week a veteran film and television worker, a member of IATSE, told the World Socialist Web Site, “There are two enemies: AMPTP and the IATSE leadership. ... IATSE leadership has and is still actively working to try to keep the rank and file away from each other, which is super disturbing. They are blocking all kinds of movement and coordination among the rank and file. Some in leadership are spreading misinformation about the contract and the vote. It’s very chilling how they are trying to manipulate us.”
IATSE workers must draw the necessary conclusions from this struggle. The fight of film and television workers is not over. But workers must respond to this betrayal by preparing for the next phase. Workers need new organizations, independent of and in opposition to the IATSE bureaucracy, to provide themselves with a forum for free and democratic discussion to prepare a common strategy and appeal for support from the rest of the working class, without fear of reprisal or constant gaslighting.
This means that IATSE workers must form independent rank-and-file committees, as John Deere Workers, educators, Amazon workers and others across the country have done. They have already played powerful roles at Deere, Volvo Trucks, Dana and other struggles over the course of the year in mobilizing opposition to union treachery.
The World Socialist Web Site calls on film and television workers who agree with this perspective to contact us. We will do everything within our power to help workers as they form such committees, including connecting them to other such rank-and-file committees around the world, including among autoworkers, educators and health care workers.
The “Basic Agreement” was voted down by 50.4 percent “No” to 49.6 percent “Yes” among the general membership. However, because IATSE uses an undemocratic electoral college-like “delegate system” in its contract votes, the union declared the contract passed by a margin of 256 voting “Yes” to 188 “No.” For the second, “Area Standards Agreement,” the delegate vote was 103 “Yes” to 94 “No.”
The narrow passage of this Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) is a culmination of the union’s efforts over the last six months to oppose, isolate and betray the struggle of film production workers. After being forced to work without a contract by the union for months, 98 percent of the membership, pushed to the brink by the inhuman conditions which pervade set-life, voted to strike at the beginning of October. Although IATSE eventually issued a 10-day strike notice, it continued working behind closed doors with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to avert a strike, which was called off at the last minute when the current deal was announced.
With consummate hypocrisy, IATSE declared to the press that it had arrived at a “Hollywood ending.” In truth, the contract was a rotten deal which did nothing to address the core demands of the workers.
The deal does nothing to eliminate the short turnarounds between shifts which leave workers exhausted, continues the so-called “Fraturdays” (working Friday through early Saturday morning), includes a 3 percent annual pay raise equivalent to a 3 percent wage cut with current inflation at 6 percent, and no guarantees of sufficient time to break for food and rest during a production shoot.
IATSE pressed forward with the sellout contract even after the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins in an accidental on-set shooting, which stemmed from the very conditions IATSE workers have been fighting against.
These maneuvers are part of a wider campaign by all unions to sabotage an “autumn offensive” in which the working class is attempting to fight back against decades of wage stagnation and unsafe working conditions.
The IATSE playbook was borrowed wholesale over the weekend by the health care unions at Kaiser Permanente, who called off a strike by 32,000 workers at the hospital chain in Southern California and a separate strike by 2,500 pharmacists in Northern California this weekend, both of which had been scheduled to begin Monday. The new contract in Southern California contains paltry 2 to 3 percent wage increases and a regressive attendance bonus, which discourages nurses from taking contractually allotted sick days.
On Friday, the UAW announced it was forcing a re-vote on virtually the same contract at John Deere which workers had rejected two weeks ago, in a bid to end the monthlong strike by 10,000 workers. Significantly, the announcement came only one day after charges were filed against yet another corrupt UAW official, who embezzled $16 million, which he blew on casinos in Detroit.
Workers know that conditions are more favorable now than they have been in decades for them to fight against these concessions. But the corporate-financial oligarchy, which has been making more money on the stock market than ever before over the course of the pandemic, is relying principally on the services of the unions to disrupt and betray this movement.
This is part of a broader strategy of the Biden administration, who dispatched two cabinet members to picket lines last month, to bolster the unions as a form of police guardianship over the working class. At the same time, the courts have granted several injunctions against pickets across the country, and the Biden administration has been publicly floating the idea of using the National Guard to relieve port congestion on the West Coast.
After the announcement of the tentative agreement, IATSE workers angrily took to social media to denounce the leadership, forming rank-and-file meetings to call for a “No” vote. As one worker wrote in response to IATSE’s announcement, “The Big Production and Streamers Bosses are breaking cigars with Union Bosses right now!”
When IATSE International President Matthew Loeb contemptuously told workers, “From start to finish, from preparation to ratification, this has been a democratic process to win the very best contracts,” workers responded angrily.
“Everyone leading IATSE should be ashamed of themselves,” wrote one. Another said, “I call shenanigans on that vote margin as well as turnout.” And another, “WILDCAT STRIKE.”
Earlier this week a veteran film and television worker, a member of IATSE, told the World Socialist Web Site, “There are two enemies: AMPTP and the IATSE leadership. ... IATSE leadership has and is still actively working to try to keep the rank and file away from each other, which is super disturbing. They are blocking all kinds of movement and coordination among the rank and file. Some in leadership are spreading misinformation about the contract and the vote. It’s very chilling how they are trying to manipulate us.”
IATSE workers must draw the necessary conclusions from this struggle. The fight of film and television workers is not over. But workers must respond to this betrayal by preparing for the next phase. Workers need new organizations, independent of and in opposition to the IATSE bureaucracy, to provide themselves with a forum for free and democratic discussion to prepare a common strategy and appeal for support from the rest of the working class, without fear of reprisal or constant gaslighting.
This means that IATSE workers must form independent rank-and-file committees, as John Deere Workers, educators, Amazon workers and others across the country have done. They have already played powerful roles at Deere, Volvo Trucks, Dana and other struggles over the course of the year in mobilizing opposition to union treachery.
The World Socialist Web Site calls on film and television workers who agree with this perspective to contact us. We will do everything within our power to help workers as they form such committees, including connecting them to other such rank-and-file committees around the world, including among autoworkers, educators and health care workers.
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