Posts tagged Hollywood
California’s AB5 Law Threatens Film and TV Workers Who Use Loan Outs
May 28, 2024 // Loan-out corporations already pay W-2 wages to their owners. The California Employment Development Department's decision to not recognize loan-outs for payroll purposes means studios would have to pay these corporations directly. Due to the logistical challenges this presents, studios are likely to reject using loan-outs altogether. This could severely disrupt the entertainment industry and needs immediate resolution. And the other giant thing is, other states will not have this law. So why would Hollywood workers stay and have businesses in Southern California if they'd be paying more taxes to live in a more expensive place? Especially if work then moves out of state as well.
WGA Strike Leaders Chris Keyser and David Goodman Warn Members to Stay Vigilant: ‘The Strike is Over, the Fight Goes On’
April 16, 2024 // “It’s exhilarating when we won a contract with so many benefits and protections for writers and since the strike ended as a show of enduring solidarity, I have remained unemployed,” joked late-night writer Josh Gondelman, who hosted the WGA East ceremony. Later in the night, WGA West president Meredith Stiehm took the stage to deliver a long list of thank-yous to other Hollywood unions and those who supported the guild during its 148-day work stoppage. Stiehm noted that unlike the 2007-2008 strike, the WGA received strong support from fellow unions last year. She indicated that WGA members are prepared to demonstrate solidarity with IATSE members later this year if that union winds up in a work stoppage. IATSE at present is deep in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Post Hollywood labor strike, industry members say they are unable to find work
March 19, 2024 // But regular production is far from back. Not-for-profit FilmLA says shoot permits are down by about 10% and shoot days are down by about 12% from this time last year. After a viral post on LinkedIn by producer and writer Patrick Caligiuri detailing his struggles, many industry workers came forward with similar tales of struggling to find jobs.
Why Biden’s Pro-worker Stance Isn’t Working
March 19, 2024 //
UAW president Shawn Fain on labor’s comeback: “This is what happens when workers get power”
February 26, 2024 // Volkswagen worker Shaun Lawler says skepticism of the UAW runs deep in the community. When asked how his family views unions, he replied, "They don't see it as a good opportunity; they see layoffs." What do they call unions? "They call them communist," Lawler said.
“They Should Fear Us”: Teamsters & IATSE Link Arms For March Contract Talks With Studios
February 2, 2024 // To put some numbers to those crew, the Matthew Loeb-run IATSE represents 170,000 technicians, artisans and craftspeople in North America. With 1.3 million members nationwide, the Teamsters have 6,500 members in Local 399. The other Hollywood Basic Crafts have a combined 1,500 members. So do the math: That’s 178,000 union members sitting at the table at the AMPTP’s Sherman Oaks offices. All things considered, in the first such united front by the unions in 25 years, maybe the studios should be a little scared.
The Year of the Union…Corruption?
February 1, 2024 // According to an annual report by the Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS), over 155 criminal investigations into union-related activity were completed over the past year. As a result, the OLMS distributed 39 indictments and collected 57 convictions for numerous offenses ranging from petty theft to labor racketeering. While these findings are certainly disturbing, they likely only represent a drop in the bucket of national union corruption. This is because, according to the Department of Labor, it is simply “not feasible” to audit every union. Instead, forced to optimize limited resources against widespread corruption, the OLMS has developed an auditing methodology for unions whose “metrics suggest the possibility that there may have been criminal activity.” In 2023, the OLMS conducted 222 of these targeted audits, ultimately finding that 18.3% of these cases warranted criminal action. With nearly 1/5 of audits uncovering some form of wrongdoing, even in the limited sampling size permitted by OLMS resources, it is fair to say that corruption is entrenched within the American labor movement.
Labor unions, with power and popularity rising, are still trailing in the biggest nationwide battle
January 29, 2024 // But according to the Gallup polling, only one in six Americans live in a household with a union member, and its polling, as well as polling by others, shows that nonunion workers remains divided, about fifty-fifty, on interest in joining a union — Gallup's 2022 polling showed the percentage of nonunion workers who were not interested in membership as high as 58%.
Are Unions Experiencing a Renaissance? Not Quite
January 24, 2024 // The reality is that, although the absolute number of union members has risen, nonunion jobs have increased faster.2 Gallup data support the apparent lack of worker demand for joining a union. Although 17% of workers are highly interested in joining a labor union, six in 10 U.S. employees say they are “not interested at all,” unchanged from 2022.
As Musicians Start Talks With Studios, Hollywood Labor Leaders Lend Support In Picket
January 22, 2024 // The program - which featured music performed by AFM brass musicians and speeches from labor leaders including Teamsters Local 399 secretary-treasurer Lindsay Dougherty, Writers Guild of America West vice president Michele Mulroney and L.A. County Federation of Labor president Yvonne Wheeler - took place hours before the AFM was scheduled to begin negotiations over new Basic Theatrical Motion Picture and Basic Television Motion Picture contracts with the AMPTP in an office just steps away.