A tentative agreement has been reached for a new three-year contract covering casting directors and associate casting directors in Los Angeles and New York.
The deal was reached Tuesday evening after two months of bargaining between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television and Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399 and New York’s Teamsters Local 817. Union leaders say that details of the deal will be shared with their members later this week.
The unions’ bargaining committee is recommending ratification, and a digital information meeting will be held May 22 in L.A. and New York where members who work under the agreement will have the opportunity to vote on it.
“Our member-led casting committee from both Local 399 and 817 worked tirelessly throughout this entire process with tenacity, passion and perseverance,” said Lindsay Dougherty, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 399 and director of the Teamsters Motion Picture and Theatrical Trade Division who co-led the unions’ bargaining team. “Throughout these negotiations, we not only discussed our core issues across the table with the AMPTP, but we also identified what internal work can be done immediately to strengthen this unit moving forward. This group has never backed down from a fight, and I am proud to continue to fight alongside them in solidarity with Local 817.”
“From the initial organizing effort some eighteen years ago, to the significant gains made in these negotiations, I’m proud of all that’s been achieved for the casting community and is emblematic of the collective might of these unique craft locals,” said Local 817 President Tommy O’Donnell, who co-led the talks for the unions.
Carol Lombardini, president of the AMPTP, was the chief negotiator for the companies.
