A film is produced in British Columbia. (CTV)
Lisa Steacy
CTVNewsVancouver.ca Reporter
Updated April 9, 2022
Lisa Steacy
CTVNewsVancouver.ca Reporter
Updated April 9, 2022
A union representing workers in B.C.’s film and television industry has voted in favour of a strike mandate, the latest development in a year-long negotiation.
The Directors Guild of Canada, B.C. District Council (DGC BC) says 92.2 per cent of members supported the move, among the 86.2 per cent who cast a ballot. The union represents creative and logistical staff including directors, editors, location managers, production assistants, and others. It is the first time the union has called a strike vote.
“We thank our members for the solidarity that they have shown with this overwhelming mandate. Their strength and resolve make it clear that respect, fairness and safety in the workplace are non-negotiable,” said Allan Harmon, District Council Chairman, in a statement issued Friday.
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The sticking points, according to the union, include retroactive pay increases, payment for COVID testing, and wages for those in entry-level or lower-paid positions. In addition, the union says with B.C.’s minimum wage increasing to $15.65 an hour in June, some experienced members will be making the provincial minimum despite industry experience.
The guild is negotiating with the Producer members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the Canadian Media Producers Association – BC Producers Branch (CMPA – BC). In a joint statement issued on the eve of the strike vote, they said the two sides were on the brink of an agreement before the guild made additional demands, “and the opportunity for settlement evaporated.”
Further, the organizations alluded to the potential for job action to have a chilling effect on the industry.
“The DGC BC’s strike authorization vote sends a message of labour uncertainty in the province and seriously jeopardizes British Columbia’s reputation as an attractive location for motion picture production,” they said.
“Considering the potential for labour instability in British Columbia, companies represented by the AMPTP and CMPA may be forced to re-evaluate their plans for basing new productions in the province.”
The union says it has not seen any evidence of productions opting out of coming to B.C. It also points to “safe harbour agreements” for productions already in place, protecting productions already underway from shutting down in the event of job action.
A list of TV productions the guild’s members are currently working on includes Riverdale, Superman and Lois, The Flash, and Charmed.
A strike mandate does not mean workers can walk off the job immediately, 72 hours notice is still required.
The Directors Guild of Canada, B.C. District Council (DGC BC) has voted
overwhelmingly in favour of strike action. (Black Press Media file photo)
B.C. film workers union overwhelmingly in favour of strike vote
Directors Guild of Canada, B.C. District Council members voted 92.2% in favour of a strike
Members of the Directors Guild of Canada, B.C. District Council (DGC BC), which represents thousands of workers in B.C.’s film industry has voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.
The vote held by DGC BC resulted in 92.2 per cent voting in favour with 86.2 per cent of the 1,700 members casting a ballot. This is the first time in the history of the union that a strike vote has been held.
“We thank our members for the solidarity they have shown with this overwhelming mandate. Their strength and resolve make it clear that respect, fairness and safety in the workplace are non-negotiable,” says Allan Harmon, District Council Chairman, DGC BC. “We are fighting to achieve and maintain fundamental rights for everyone working under our collective agreement.”
DGC BC has been engaged in negotiations for a year with the bargaining representatives of producers, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the Canadian Media Producers Association. None of the parties have been able to strike a deal.
The major sticking points are around minimum wage differentials, payment terms for COVID testing and retroactivity of wages to the expiry of last contract in March 2021.
DGC BC said they applied for mediation with the Labour Relations Board in May 2021 and the mediator issued recommendations for settlement on August 6. However, the negotiating producers rejected the deal and sought new concessions from DGC BC.
“Their most recent offer contains clawbacks not only from the Mediator’s recommendations, but also from their own November 2021 offer,” DGC BC said in a statement.
The negotiating producers deny the union’s claims. Instead, in a press release issued on April 6, they accused DGC BC of making unreasonable demands when the parties were on the brink of an agreement.
“After being so close to reaching an agreement, the DGC BC then made additional demands and the opportunity for settlement evaporated. Now, the Guild is asking its members to authorize the calling of a strike, based on demands that were not part of the mediator’s recommendations,” the statement reads.
They add that the strike vote will send the wrong message about the viability of film in B.C.
“The DGC BC’s strike authorization vote sends a message of labour uncertainty in the province and seriously jeopardizes British Columbia’s reputation as an attractive location for motion picture production. Considering the potential for labour instability in British Columbia, companies represented by the AMPTP and CMPA may be forced to re-evaluate their plans for basing new productions in the province.”
Though the DGC BC has voted in favour of strike action it does not mean that a strike is imminent. Any job action requires a 72-hour strike notice. The union hopes to use the vote as leverage to get a more acceptable deal from the negotiating producers.
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Directors Guild Of Canada B.C. Members Vote Overwhelmingly To Authorize Strike Against Film & TV Production
By David Robb
Labor Editor
DGC BC
UPDATED with DGA statement: Members of the Directors Guild of Canada British Columbia have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against film and TV productions in the province. The vote on the union’s first-ever strike mandate was 92.2% in favor, with 86.2% of eligible voters casting ballots.
“We thank our members for the solidarity they have shown with this overwhelming mandate,” said Allan Harmon, DGC BC’s district council chairman. “Their strength and resolve make it clear that respect, fairness and safety in the workplace are non-negotiable. We are fighting to achieve and maintain fundamental rights for everyone working under our collective agreement.”
Prior to the balloting, the guild told its members that a “yes” vote “does not mean we walk off the job the next day. Instead, it gives your negotiating team a strong mandate in its efforts to negotiate a fair deal and empowers us to take job action if the negotiating producers refuse to respond to your legitimate concerns.”
“Our goal is to reach a fair agreement,” said Kendrie Upton, DGC BC’s executive director. “We all care about this industry, so let’s roll up our sleeves, get back to the table and find a solution. That is the best way to ensure long-term labor stability.”
The Directors Guild of America, meanwhile, has expressed its support for the DGC BC, saying in a statement today that it “stands in solidarity with our DGC brothers and sisters in British Columbia. The issues of respect, fair compensation and safety they are fighting for are important to all workers. We urge the AMPTP and the CMPA to return to the bargaining table and make a fair deal addressing these critical issues.”
The guild’s current contract was set to expire on March 31, 2021, but has been extended for more than a year in the hopes that a fair deal could be reached. Labor and management are expected to return to the bargaining table in the coming days, even though the guild has already declared an “impasse” in the talks after mediation failed. In the U.S., the declaration of a bargaining “impasse” often precedes a strike – especially after mediation fails, as it did in the runup to the authorization vote.
Directors Guild Of Canada B.C. Seeks First-Ever Strike OK Vote From Members After AMPTP Bargaining Reaches “Impasse”
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DGC BCUPDATED with DGA statement: Members of the Directors Guild of Canada British Columbia have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against film and TV productions in the province. The vote on the union’s first-ever strike mandate was 92.2% in favor, with 86.2% of eligible voters casting ballots.
“We thank our members for the solidarity they have shown with this overwhelming mandate,” said Allan Harmon, DGC BC’s district council chairman. “Their strength and resolve make it clear that respect, fairness and safety in the workplace are non-negotiable. We are fighting to achieve and maintain fundamental rights for everyone working under our collective agreement.”
Prior to the balloting, the guild told its members that a “yes” vote “does not mean we walk off the job the next day. Instead, it gives your negotiating team a strong mandate in its efforts to negotiate a fair deal and empowers us to take job action if the negotiating producers refuse to respond to your legitimate concerns.”
“Our goal is to reach a fair agreement,” said Kendrie Upton, DGC BC’s executive director. “We all care about this industry, so let’s roll up our sleeves, get back to the table and find a solution. That is the best way to ensure long-term labor stability.”
The Directors Guild of America, meanwhile, has expressed its support for the DGC BC, saying in a statement today that it “stands in solidarity with our DGC brothers and sisters in British Columbia. The issues of respect, fair compensation and safety they are fighting for are important to all workers. We urge the AMPTP and the CMPA to return to the bargaining table and make a fair deal addressing these critical issues.”
The guild’s current contract was set to expire on March 31, 2021, but has been extended for more than a year in the hopes that a fair deal could be reached. Labor and management are expected to return to the bargaining table in the coming days, even though the guild has already declared an “impasse” in the talks after mediation failed. In the U.S., the declaration of a bargaining “impasse” often precedes a strike – especially after mediation fails, as it did in the runup to the authorization vote.
A strike, if it comes to that, would be the first in the DGC BC’s history. According to Creative BC, the British Columbia film commission, more than 30 projects are currently filming there, including such films as Parallel Forest and Pinky; TV series The Flash, The Good Doctor, Charmed, Snowpiercer, Riverdale, Superman & Lois, A Million Little Things and The Nanny; and miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher and Shogun.
A strike, however, would not stop filming elsewhere in Canada. In Toronto, which is also a major filming destination, directors and their crews are represented by a different DGC district council, which has its own separate contracts and is not threatening a work-stoppage.
DGC BC says it’s “fighting for respect, fairness and safety for those working under its collective agreement, especially the people in the lowest paid and most vulnerable positions, which includes those from diverse and underrepresented groups in the industry.” It also says it’s fighting against “clawbacks” – rollbacks to existing terms in its contract. Other key issues, it says, are minimum wage differentials; payment terms for Covid testing, and retroactivity of wage increases. “We cannot recommend a deal that includes significant concessions and does not address the DGC BC’s key objectives of respect, fairness and safety,” the guild said before the vote.
The 1,700-member guild represents not only directors but also second unit directors, production and unit managers, and those employed in the various assistant director and locations departments, as well as entry-level production assistants. Acceptable terms for the entry-level assistants have been a major sticking point in the talks
A strike, however, would not stop filming elsewhere in Canada. In Toronto, which is also a major filming destination, directors and their crews are represented by a different DGC district council, which has its own separate contracts and is not threatening a work-stoppage.
DGC BC says it’s “fighting for respect, fairness and safety for those working under its collective agreement, especially the people in the lowest paid and most vulnerable positions, which includes those from diverse and underrepresented groups in the industry.” It also says it’s fighting against “clawbacks” – rollbacks to existing terms in its contract. Other key issues, it says, are minimum wage differentials; payment terms for Covid testing, and retroactivity of wage increases. “We cannot recommend a deal that includes significant concessions and does not address the DGC BC’s key objectives of respect, fairness and safety,” the guild said before the vote.
The 1,700-member guild represents not only directors but also second unit directors, production and unit managers, and those employed in the various assistant director and locations departments, as well as entry-level production assistants. Acceptable terms for the entry-level assistants have been a major sticking point in the talks
.
The AMPTP and the Canadian Media Producers Association, with whom the guild has been bargaining, on and off, for over a year, warned on Wednesday that labor instability in the region could force producers to think twice about filming there. “The DGC BC’s strike authorization vote sends a message of labour uncertainty in the province and seriously jeopardizes British Columbia’s reputation as an attractive location for motion picture production. Considering the potential for labor instability in British Columbia, companies represented by the AMPTP and CMPA may be forced to re-evaluate their plans for basing new productions in the province.”
The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which represents the major U.S. companies, and the CMPA, a trade association for independent producers, say that they have “carefully considered the Guild’s key priorities and offered a comprehensive proposal to address those demands, including across-the-board wage increases, outsized increases for the lowest-paid classifications, outsized wage increases for Location Managers, the creation of a new and higher-paid Key Background Coordinator classification and increased benefits for members working on certain high budget SVOD productions including residual payments for Directors. This generous offer contains no ‘rollbacks’ or reductions in benefits.”
The AMPTP and the Canadian Media Producers Association, with whom the guild has been bargaining, on and off, for over a year, warned on Wednesday that labor instability in the region could force producers to think twice about filming there. “The DGC BC’s strike authorization vote sends a message of labour uncertainty in the province and seriously jeopardizes British Columbia’s reputation as an attractive location for motion picture production. Considering the potential for labor instability in British Columbia, companies represented by the AMPTP and CMPA may be forced to re-evaluate their plans for basing new productions in the province.”
The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which represents the major U.S. companies, and the CMPA, a trade association for independent producers, say that they have “carefully considered the Guild’s key priorities and offered a comprehensive proposal to address those demands, including across-the-board wage increases, outsized increases for the lowest-paid classifications, outsized wage increases for Location Managers, the creation of a new and higher-paid Key Background Coordinator classification and increased benefits for members working on certain high budget SVOD productions including residual payments for Directors. This generous offer contains no ‘rollbacks’ or reductions in benefits.”
Directors Guild Of Canada B.C. Seeks First-Ever Strike OK Vote From Members After AMPTP Bargaining Reaches “Impasse”
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