Calling "action" on a major strike

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada, better known as IATSE if you want to avoid the mouthful, has announced that it will be striking on Monday, Oct. 18. As a film major, this means a lot to me, but for those who are not connected to the drama of the film world like I am, you may have no idea what’s going on. So here’s the rundown:

Who are the main players? 

Well, there’s IATSE which is a labor union representing over 150,000 “below the line” workers in the entertainment industry - “below the line” meaning electricians, camera operators, script supervisors, makeup artists and basically anyone who isn’t the screenwriter, director or producer. They’re going head to head right now with The Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Productions (AMPTP). The AMPTP is a trade association that negotiates bargaining agreements between the “Big 7” companies like Paramount, Sony and Disney.

What are they striking for? 

IATSE wants what every normal human being wants — decent working rights. The terms of their strike include safer and more reasonable working hours, livable wages, satisfactory rest time and higher wage percentages for working on “new media” (or streaming) projects. As of now, “below the line” workers often exceed 15 hour days, with one 30 minute meal break and wages that most people can make at a service industry job. However, AMPTP isn’t budging. The president of IATSE, Matthew Loeb, announced yesterday morning, Wednesday, Oct. 13, that they will continue bargaining with AMPTP, but if they don’t reach a negotiation by Monday, Oct. 18, they will strike. Ninety percent of IATSE workers voted on this strike, with an overwhelming majority of 98.6% voting yes.

What would a strike look like and how does it impact us?  

If IATSE goes on strike, over 60,000 people will be walking off of film sets Monday morning. And, until a negotiation is reached, this means a halt in most film and tv productions and post-production, potentially pushing back release dates by months and costing studios billions of dollars. For us, that means things like “Into the Spiderverse 2,” “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” or season whatever of “Walking Dead,” might not be released until 2023 at the earliest.

With all this to say, I don’t really think that the AMPTP will let it get as far as a strike, but if IATSE doesn’t feel as though its needs are being met, a strike might be the only option. Stay tuned Monday, Oct. 18, to see what decisions have been made on either side. The future of film starts at this crossroads.