Posts tagged IATSE
Opinions | The WGA strike is part of a recurring pattern when technology changes
May 31, 2023 // Once again, writers and other workers in Hollywood are facing technological change, this time regarding the use of artificial intelligence in projects covered by the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA). The WGA has proposed that any MBA material be produced by a person, with writing credits to a human, and that no AI be used in the production of literary material for a film. The goal is to secure the jobs and pay of writers, with both initial minimum payments during production and residuals for back-end exhibition. The WGA, which has stronger residuals security and higher payments with studios than with streamers, is looking for closer parity, especially with streaming’s rise in popularity since the coronavirus pandemic. Could AI help script a sitcom? Some striking writers fear so. In a recent example of where the agreements have fallen short, Netflix forced the WGA into arbitration by withholding residuals, ultimately owing $64 million in backdated payments while still refusing to shell out $13.5 million in interest.
Writers’ strike week 3: Stars rally at 30 Rock, WGA says strike will cost studios more money than settling
May 24, 2023 // The Writers Guild strike passed the three-week mark on Tuesday, as a large rally dubbed #RallyAtTheRock took place outside NBCUniversal headquarters and featured stars like Mark Ruffalo, Busy Phillips, John Leguizamo and Kal Penn. Even more celebrities, including SNL cast member Sarah Sherman and comedian Jordan Klepper, filled the picket lines and were joined by the Teamsters union, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, Broadway performers and many more.
Philadelphia: Helen Gym’s campaign resolves dispute with union over Bernie Sanders rally
May 15, 2023 // On Saturday morning, the regional carpenters’ union and the Service Employees International Union 32BJ released a joint statement “condemning” Gym for not moving the rally to a venue that has a unionized workforce. Both unions are backing Cherelle Parker for mayor. SEIU 32BJ’s involvement was notable because it often backs candidates from the left wing of the Democratic Party who are politically aligned with Gym and Sanders. ADVERTISEMENT A spokesperson for the carpenters said Saturday morning that the union was considering picketing. But the plans were scuttled once Barnes said IATSE was satisfied.
WGA Strike Shuts Down ‘Billions’ Amid Skirmishes, Cries Of “Scabs” Outside NYC Studio; Teamsters Refuse To Cross Pickets At ‘American Horror Story’ Filming
May 8, 2023 // Back in New York City, there also were smaller skirmishes in Brooklyn, with handfuls of picketers briefly surrounding and blocking production workers as they wheeled plastic bins filled with pieces of furniture across a cobbled street. “This is the point of a picket line,” one protestor pleaded with a middle-age woman trying to steer a bin around him with help from a private security guard. She eventually slipped through, with grudging assent from the picketers and the same “scab” refrain following her. The WGA said Wednesday that stagehands and truckers represented by IATSE and the Teamsters did not cross a picket line at another production facility, Silvercup Studios, in Queens, while protesters were on site there. It added that traffic in and out resumed once the protestors departed, in what union representatives called a work slowdown, not a full shutdown, at the site.
‘SNL’ Postproduction Workers Authorize Strike as Contract Negotiations Stall
January 26, 2023 // On Thursday, Jan. 12, the crew of around 20 part-time film editors, editors, assistant editors and media managers voted in a meeting over Zoom to allow their union to order a strike if necessary amid the slow-moving contract talks, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The group, which unionized with the IATSE-affiliated Motion Picture Editors Guild in October, is responsible for postproduction on pretaped sketches, like music videos and commercial parodies, shot before the live show. After the union was voluntarily recognized by NBC management in October, the group has so far only had one bargaining session with NBC, with no additional dates currently scheduled. The Editors Guild sent management a package of proposals in December.
Nickelodeon Voluntarily Recognizes Production Workers Union
January 20, 2023 // About a month after the IATSE local filed for a National Labor Relations Board election, Nickelodeon has chosen to bypass that process by agreeing to recognize a bargaining unit of 177 workers — including production coordinators, production managers, asset production coordinators and others. This will amount to “the largest bargaining unit of production workers to organize under The Animation Guild” so far, TAG said in its announcement Tuesday. Nickelodeon confirmed the news as well.
Nickelodeon Studios Production Workers Go Public With Wage Concerns During Union Drive
December 7, 2022 // TAG, an IATSE Local, said Monday that it is attempting to unionize 177 production managers, production coordinators, post production assistants, art production coordinators and asset coordinators, among others, at the studio. Though TAG has been busy organizing production workers at studios including Bento Box Entertainment and ShadowMachine since the start of the year, “To date, this is the largest bargaining unit of production workers to organize under The Animation Guild,” TAG said in a statement. According to TAG, a “supermajority” of this group voted to join the Guild in a card count.
Commercial Producers Ink Neutrality Agreement With IATSE Over Unionizing Workers
October 17, 2022 // The grassroots group Stand With Production, which has collaborated with IATSE on the organizing campaign, announced the deal to its supporters in an email on Friday, and IATSE confirmed the news. A neutrality agreement essentially means that the employer (in this case, the AICP) agrees not to resist a union drive being spearheaded by Stand With Production and IATSE. production assistants, assistant production supervisors, production supervisors, line producers, rest periods, safety training, higher minimum wage rates, union health and pension plans and diversity and mentorship initiatives.
Remaining Staff of Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater Fired Following Unionizing Attempt
September 19, 2022 // In a statement released July 6, Victory Gardens Board Chairman Charles E. Harris II fought back at the resident artists' claims, calling their criticism of a recent real estate transaction a misunderstanding and asserting that "certain decisions must happen at the board level." Harris, who is Black, does not address the allegations of racism in the response to the artists' joint statement.
IATSE Accuses AICP Of “Union Busting” In Drive To Organize TV Commercial Production Department Workers
August 18, 2022 // IATSE is accusing the Association of Independent Commercial Producers of “union busting” and providing companies with a “license to blacklist” production department workers engaged in unionizing efforts. Last month, the union said that thousands of workers employed in TV commercial production departments had formed a new union called Stand with Production under the umbrella of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Matt Loeb,