LOS ANGELES—Members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) received email ballots at 9 a.m. ET on November 12th and will be voting over the weekend on whether the union will approve the new Basic Agreement and the Area Standards Agreement covering about 60,000 members.
Members of 13 local unions on the West Coast are voting on the Basic Agreement and members outside the West Coast in 23 local unions are voting on Theatrical and Television Motion Picture Area Standards Agreement.
Matthew D. Loeb, international president of the union, issued a statement urging members to ratify the proposed agreements with the AMPTP, a trade group representing the major studios, producers and streaming services.
“The dynamics of these negotiations were like none other, taking place during a global pandemic, through a remote-meeting platform, after an unprecedented industry shut-down (which affected the lives of virtually everyone),” Loeb wrote. “Nonetheless, the proposals we took to the negotiating table focused upon bread-and-butter issues—essential issues for the motion picture and television industries’ workers. We negotiated for the necessary components that you need to carry out your jobs: rest at the end of a day and on the weekend; meal breaks during the day leave if you get sick; living wages; secure health and retirement benefits; and improved wages and working conditions on streaming productions. The IATSE has led other entertainment industry unions and guilds by adding Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a holiday in its contract—an accomplishment that we hope will be recognized by the entire industry…Without you, this groundbreaking contract would not have been possible. I encourage you to vote YES.”
There have been some reports, however, that some union members did not feel the contract went far enough in terms of meeting their demands.
