The TV and Film Stage Workers' strike is set to start on October 18 if no agreement is reached. There has been much speculation about a potential strike since negotiations began earlier this year. The IATSE is negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers over rest times, fair wages, and meal breaks. With extra pressure from the pandemic and the social awakening about the treatment of those making a living wage, it is not that surprising to see a strike on the horizon.
The TV and Film Stage Workers are represented by the IATSE labor union, which stands for The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Founded in 1893, IATSE is one of the few current labor unions that has continued to grow in membership in modern times, likely due to its ability to adapt its jurisdiction rules to current media technology to protect its members. IATSE represents over 150,000 workers in the US and Canada in the motion picture and television, live theater, and trade show industry. Since September, they've been locked in negotiations with the AMTP since turning down a proposal from AMTP that didn't meet IATSE standards. A month later, IATSE members are preparing for a strike by making signs and rallying support. The last step before the strike begins is setting a start date, but now it looks like that's been locked in as well.
The IATSE account has stated that the TV and Film Stage Workers' strike will begin next week unless an agreement is reached. The target date is Monday, October 18, at 12:01 am. The nationwide strike will be felt by all the major studios and streamers, and the social media message is sure to put some pressure on the negotiating table this week. See the full Tweet below:
There are a few significant issues on the table, the biggest of which is higher minimum wages in general. Another is the current classification of streaming content as "new media," which allows studios to pay lower minimum wages. Also discussed is studio pressure to skip breaks for meals, exceptionally long workdays, and unreasonable deadlines to produce content, especially with current streaming content in high demand. Not to mention the current trend of streaming sites releasing shorter and fewer seasons of shows meaning shorter production (less work) and fewer opportunities for promotion during the short life of a series.
Whether or not the strike will happen is unknown, as there are still a few more days left for the two sides to negotiate. Both would suffer should a strike occur, and it is a critical point for everyone as production had just suffered such a blow due to the pandemic. With any luck, some agreement will be reached before the deadline, though it will be interesting to see who manages to get the better deal.
SOURCE: Twitter/ IATSE
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