Cameramen, set builders, costume designers, make-up artists… These Hollywood employees essential to the smooth running of filming threatened to strike from midnight this Sunday, faced with the blocking of negotiations on a new collective agreement. What paralyze the American cinema industry. But an agreement on the working conditions of these technical employees was finally able to be reached at the last minute.
“It’s an ending worthy of a Hollywood movie,” rejoices, in a press release published on Saturday evening, Matthew Loeb, the president of the IATSE, the main union in the sector, which represents tens of thousands of these show workers. The convention now proposed “addresses fundamental issues, including reasonable rest periods, meal breaks, living wages for those at the bottom of the pay scale, and substantial increases in compensation” from the companies, lists the union statement.
Disney, Warner and Netflix had to give in
It took months of discussions and blockages to achieve this. The Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP) – which notably represents Disney, Warner and even Netflix – refused until the last moment to accede to some of the IATSE’s demands. “We took on some of the wealthiest and most powerful technology and entertainment companies in the world, and we got a deal with AMPTP that meets the needs of our members,” welcomes Matthew Loeb. AMPTP confirmed the deal to CNN, without commenting further.
The movement of these technical workers had obtained many marks of support, for example from actors like Julia Louis-Dreyfus or Samuel L. Jackson, but also from left-wing political figures like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. It also posed the threat of a complete blockage of American audiovisual, like what happened in 2007-2008, when Hollywood screenwriters decided to put down their pen. This 100-day conflict had caused a shortfall of $2 billion, according to independent estimates.
The film crews have not gone on strike since 1945. A six-month conflict had then degenerated with violent clashes in front of the Warner Bros. studios. The remake will not be for 2021.