IATSE and management’s AMPTP failed to reach agreement on a new film and TV contract at last night’s bargaining deadline for a new deal, but negotiations are continuing.
“The basic agreement bargaining committee has met over the last two days with the AMPTP. An agreement has not been reached,” the union said in its latest update to its members.
“The parties’ extension agreement expired at midnight on Sept. 10th but negotiations continue. In the meantime, the status quo remains in effect and all members should continue to report to work. Information will be provided as it becomes available.”
The union’s current contract has been set to expire on July 31, but was extended to allow Hollywood’s unions and the major companies to reach a new agreement on Covid-19 safety protocols, which include guidelines for mandatory vaccinations.
In a previous update, dated Aug. 31, the union said that “After more than six weeks of negotiations over a period of four months, it remains clear that the employers are unwilling to resolve our priority issues — living wages, reasonable rest, meal breaks, sustainable benefits and streaming.”
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Since then, the union has been gearing up for a possible strike, and has launched a text messaging campaign to educate members about the negotiations and what’s at stake. “Our goal,” the union told its members earlier this week, “to reach every single one of our members and make sure they know what is going on in negotiations, where to go to get more information, and when the moment comes, how to make their voices heard by voting. We don’t know yet what the vote will be — contract ratification or strike authorization — but we know it is coming and we need local members to speak out in large numbers.”
