A coalition of unions representing drivers, mechanics, location managers, electricians and other Hollywood production crews has reached a tentative contract with the major studios, ending a long and tumultuous chapter of labor action in the film and TV industries.
As of late Saturday night, Hollywood Basic Crafts and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had reached agreements on six different contracts. The agreements capped off weeks of intense negotiations that followed a less contentious contract campaign led by fellow crew union IATSE.
“After lengthy discussions over the past 48 hours, we are proud to report that late this evening, all Hollywood Basic Crafts Locals have reached a tentative agreement with AMPTP,” Hollywood Basic Crafts spokeswoman Amy Gorton said in a statement.
“Today, I can tell you that we have worked closely with the Member-led Negotiating Committee to bring this fundamental technology to fruition in closing a deal with AMPTP, and that the Member-led Negotiating Committee now unanimously recommends it.”
The six new contracts negotiated by Hollywood Basic Crafts include the Teamsters Local 399 Black Book Agreement, which covers drivers, dispatchers, transport managers, animal trainers, wranglers and mechanics; the Teamsters Local 399 Location Manager Agreement, which covers location managers, assistant location managers and principal assistant location managers; the LiUNA! Local 724 Basic Agreement, which covers laborers; the IBEW Local 40 Basic Agreement, which covers electricians; the OPCMIA Local 755 Basic Agreement, which covers plasterers; and the UA Local 78 Basic Agreement, which covers plumbers.
These include terms related to salaries, pensions and health benefits, streaming balances, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles.
The existing agreement, covering about 7,600 frontline workers, was set to expire on July 31.
During negotiations with AMPTP over the past several weeks, Hollywood Basic Craft executives have repeatedly accused the entertainment company of dilly-dallying and failing to adequately address key issues affecting crew members.
The tense tone of the negotiations was a marked contrast to the IATSE contract campaign, which proceeded largely without incident and ended with a deal involving about 50,000 artisans, mostly based in Los Angeles. IATSE members ratified a new Hollywood Framework Agreement earlier this month.
In the final week of the Hollywood Basics campaign, several other entertainment unions, including IATSE, the American Federation of Musicians, the Writers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America, and the Screen Actors Guild, issued a joint statement pressuring AMPTP to “respect the workforce and make meaningful moves at the bargaining table.”
“With the July 31 contract deadline fast approaching, AMPTP is running out of time to address the unique needs of the various classifications within these unions,” the statement said.
“Our guild and union stand strong and united in support of Teamsters and Hollywood Basic Crafts until they get the compensation and working conditions they deserve.”
On Friday, AMPTP came to the negotiating table with a “final, best, final” offer, the union said. Hollywood Basic Crafts rejected that offer and said it had counteroffered the studio with a “strong feeling.”
“This is not just a proposal on paper for our members. This is meaningful terms that affect their livelihoods,” Lindsay Dougherty, president of Teamsters Local 399 and president of Hollywood Basic Crafts, said in a statement Saturday.
“We believe our response to the producer package is reasonable and will be a deal that can be finalized.”
Throughout the negotiations, Hollywood Basic Craft executives insisted they were not calling for a strike, but cautioned that they had no interest in extending negotiations beyond the contract’s expiration date.
Fears of a potential crew strike were high in the immediate aftermath of the writers’ and actors’ strike, which left thousands of entertainment workers out of work for about six months. Many remain unemployed even after the strike has ended, due to industry contractions that predated the labor dispute.
But once the IATSE contract was signed, concerns about a third strike began to fade.
