A view of the IATSE West Coast office building.
Michael Buckner of PMC
The union representing West Coast costumers has reached a tentative agreement with studios and streamers on craft-specific issues.
Crew union IATSE announced Friday that IATSE Local 705 has entered into a tentative agreement with the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance. As with other recent IATSE local interim agreements, the details of the agreement have not yet been made public, and the union added that a memorandum of agreement (a more detailed outline of the agreement) will be communicated to members once it is prepared.
“These productive negotiations were a result of the leadership shown by the West Coast Studio local bargaining committee, many of whom were participating in this process for the first time. We look forward to entering this next phase of the calendar. IATSE International Vice President Mike Miller said in a statement.
The local began ship-specific negotiations with AMPTP on Monday. IATSE Local 44, which represents prop masters, prop makers and set decorators, and Local 884, which represents studio teachers, also began negotiations this week, but the negotiations are not yet complete.
IATSE Local 705 is the 11th local group of crew unions to enter into a locally-specific interim agreement with AMPTP during this bargaining cycle. Wednesday’s agreement was preceded by the International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), Art Directors Guild (Local 800), Set Painters and Signwriters Union Local 729, Sound Workers Union Local 695, Grip Craft Services Union Local 80, and Make-up Artists Union. Hair Stylist Guild Local 706, Writers Directors and Art Department Coordinators Guild Local 871, Motion Picture Editors Guild Local 700, Lighting Technicians Guild Local 728, and Costume Designers Guild Local 892 are all members of AMPTP.
These discussions served as a weeks-long prelude to the larger West Coast IATSE negotiations, which span issues that concern all local residents, and are currently scheduled to resume on April 29th and end on May 16th. It is expected to be. These so-called basic agreement general negotiations will tackle potentially more difficult issues with studios and streamers, including wage increases, residual pay, workplace safety issues, contract language including the use of AI, and health insurance and pension contributions.
Still, an initial peaceful atmosphere has taken hold with a steady clip of locally specific interim agreements announced since late March. Time will tell whether the proposal that IATSE could hold a strike authorization vote if no agreement is reached by July 31, when the Master Agreement and Regional Standards Agreement expire, will materialize. Dew.
