LOS ANGELES—Members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) have received ballots on whether to authorize a strike and will be voting over the next three days, with results expected on Monday October 4.
The IATSE issued a call for strike authorization vote on Sept. 20th after talks had stalled on new contracts replacing those that expired this summer. If the strike vote is approved, it could lead to the first nationwide strike in the union’s history.
About 60,000 members of the union are voting on the strike.
Key issues in the labor dispute include: reducing the pay gap between streaming and regular film and TV productions; long working hours; and difficult working conditions that have been exacerbated by the difficulties of producing content during the pandemic.
