Sign petition urging fair deal for IATSE film, TV crews

The following is from the AFL-CIO:

(Sept. 29, 2021) — Our brothers, sisters and siblings at the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) just launched a petition demanding a sustainable deal for film and television workers. If enough of us sign, we can show we stand as one in our fight to end unsafe hours, unlivable wages and the lack of reasonable rest on set.

TAKE A STAND — Please sign this petition today urging the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents major film and television production companies, to make a fair deal with IATSE film and TV workers!

After months of negotiating successor contracts to the Producer-IATSE Basic Agreement and the Theatrical and Television Motion Picture Area Standards Agreement, the AMPTP announced it does not intend to make any counteroffer to the IATSE’s most recent proposal.

Throughout the bargaining process, the AMPTP has failed to work with IATSE members on addressing the most grievous problems in their workplaces, including:

● Excessively unsafe and harmful working hours.

● Unlivable wages for the lowest-paid crafts.

● Consistent failure to provide reasonable rest during meal breaks, between workdays and on weekends.

● Workers on certain “new media” streaming projects get paid less, even on productions with budgets that rival or exceed those of traditionally released blockbusters.

It is incomprehensible 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. Worse, management does not appear to even recognize core issues as problems that exist in the first place.

These issues are real for the workers in the entertainment industry, and change is long overdue. However, the explosion of streaming, combined with the pandemic, has elevated and aggravated working conditions, bringing 60,000 behind-the-scenes workers covered by these contracts to a breaking point.

IATSE members risked their health and safety all year, working through the pandemic. Now, we cannot and will not accept a deal that leaves us with an unsustainable outcome.

Join us in telling the AMPTP to make a fair deal with film and television workers.