Hollywood can breathe a sigh of relief. IATSE officially has a new three-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, after members ratified the latest film and TV contracts by a comfortable margin.
Read IATSE’s Tentative New Deals Here — Union Reveals Full Agreements Ahead Of Ratification Vote
Despite some worries throughout the voting process that the artificial intelligence provisions may prove to be a dealbreaker for some members, the Basic Agreement received an 85.9% approval, while the Area Standards Agreement was approved by 87.2%.
The contracts will go into effect on August 1. The union says that voter turnout was “historically high” with a majority of members participating.
“IATSE’s rank-and-file members have spoken, and their will is clear. Between significant wage increases in addition to several craft-specific adjustments, bolstered health/pension benefits with new funding mechanisms, improved safety provisions, critical protections preventing misuse of artificial intelligence from displacing IATSE members, and more,” Matt Loeb, the international president of IATSE, said in a statement. “The gains secured in these contracts mark a significant step forward for America’s film and tv industry and its workers. This result shows our members agree, and now we must build on what these negotiations achieved.”
The information on the new deal was first shared with the IATSE locals before the international leadership sent a press release wide on Thursday morning. The new deals cover about 50,000 film and TV workers within IATSE’s 13 West Coast studio locals as well as another 20,000 in the 23 locals across the United States.
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In a statement of their own, the AMPTP said: “The AMPTP member companies congratulate IATSE on ratifying these landmark deals, which received overwhelming support from its members. From the first day of negotiations, IATSE leadership demonstrated a clear commitment to a fair and collaborative process, which resulted in agreements that contain historic gains and protections, reflect the immense value that IATSE members bring to production, and ensure our industry will continue to deliver well-paid jobs and exciting content for years to come.”
The Teamsters and the rest of the Hollywood Basic Crafts remain in negotiations with the AMPTP, hoping to finish up their own deals before the current contracts expire on July 31. Friday marks the last day of scheduled negotiations for the unions, who have said they are willing to schedule more days to talk but will not go past the looming deadline at the end of the month.
Wage increases have emerged as the primary sticking point for Teamsters, much like they were for IATSE. At the beginning of this week, the two sides were still far enough apart that national union leadership was brought in to help move things along, Deadline understands.
If IATSE’s own bargaining cycle is any indication, the Basic Crafts still have a path toward a deal, even as the days dwindle. The Teamsters alone are one of the most powerful unions in the country with more than 1.3M members. The Motion Picture Division, which is the unit currently in talks, represents around 15,000 members across the country.
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