IATSE Members Overwhelmingly Approve Strike Authorization; AMPTP Says It “Remains Committed To Reaching An Agreement”

significant complaints from rank and file IATSE members about the early details of the new agreement with studios. On social media and also in conversations with TheWrap, several IATSE members criticized issues pertaining to working conditions — such as lunch breaks and turnarounds — as explained in the announcement of the three-year deal sent on Saturday night.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorHeather Fink has spent her working life on film and TV sets. But years of frustration with the long hours and stagnant pay had made her reach her tipping point.

With contract negotiations coming down to the wire, IATSE says that members not directly involved in a threatened work stoppage can still engage in “sympathy strikes.” Members can refuse to cross a picket line at their worksites if they chose to do so as a matter of “conscience.”

In his first year working in film and TV, hair department head Barry Lee Moe (IATSE Local 706) had an experience that forever changed his perspective on the industry.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterIATSE leadership got a big win on Oct. 4, when more than 98% of the rank and file voted to authorize a strike.Having riled people up, the leaders now face pressure to deliver the goods.

IATSE president Matthew Loeb says that the union will go on strike on Monday unless a deal is reached in the next few days.

Local 871 member Olga Lexell, who spoke with TheWrap last week about her efforts to raise money to cover dues payments for IATSE members who have fallen behind due to the pandemic. Lexell and her partners are still raising funds to allow members to pay their dues and be able to vote on whether to ratify a contract whenever IATSE and AMPTP reach a deal.

Mandi LineLocal 892Costume DesignerThe thing that I love the most in life, has to stop being the thing that causes me to have no personal life.The strike scares the shit out of me. I just got a pilot, feeling good about my hours with that pilot, amazing crew, amazing producers.

The union reports that 90% of members cast ballots this weekend, with 98% of those votes in favor of strike authorization. The union’s negotiating committee will meet with representatives from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on Tuesday morning to resume negotiations.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorAfter the historic vote to authorize the first IATSE strike ever, members of several below-the-line guilds said they were impressed with the nearly-unanimous response from their fellow craftspeople in the entertainment industry.

IATSE and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have agreed to return to the bargaining table on Tuesday following the union’s historic strike-authorization vote. It will be the first time in more than two months that the two sides have engaged in collective bargaining.

It was announced this morning that IATSE members had voted by an overwhelming margin — 98% — to authorize their leadership to call a nationwide strike against film and TV productions. Reaction online was swift and nearly unanimously in support of the vote.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterThe members of the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees has voted to approve a strike authorization, giving the union president the power to shut down film and TV production across the country.The vote passed with 98 percent support, and 90 percent turnout.The vote comes after talks stalled between the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios.

The union reports that 90% of members cast ballots this weekend, with 98% of those votes in favor of strike authorization.Strike authorization votes were held on two bargaining agreements: the Hollywood Basic Agreement, which covers the 13 West Coast locals, and the Area Standards Agreement, which covers 23 locals that work on film and TV shoots nationwide.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a video released today that she stands “shoulder-to-shoulder” with IATSE members as they vote for a strike authorization, and that she is with them “all the way in this fight.”

EXCLUSIVE: The countdown has officially started this morning in what could be one of the largest labor actions in Hollywood history.

The Art Directors Guild, IATSE Local 800, is “wholeheartedly” urging its members to authorize a strike against film and TV production companies all across the country. The leadership of all three IATSE locals with national jurisdiction – the Art Directors Guild, the International Cinematographers Guild and the Editors Guild – have now gone on record recommending that their members authorize a strike in voting that begins on Friday.

IATSE president Matthew Loeb and the presidents 13 Hollywood locals, saying that “now is the time to change the culture of our work places,” issued a joint statement Tuesday urging members to authorize a nationwide strike against film and TV production companies.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterAs a strike authorization vote looms, some IATSE members have decided to cancel their streaming subscriptions in hopes of sending a message that would hit the studios in the pocketbook.Workers in the below-the-line entertainment unions are gearing up to vote to authorize a strike this weekend, amid anger over long production hours without adequate break periods.

Labor and studio sources tell TheWrap that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios in labor talks, quietly agreed with guilds weeks ago to extend the COVID safety protocols that have governed film and TV shoots over the past year through October 30.