What Are The Hollywood Crews Demanding?
Last summer, as unionized writers and actors striked for a combined six months against Hollywood studios, crew members marched and chanted by their side. On Sunday, the chants continued, as thousands of crew workers gathered for a Los Angeles rally ahead of Monday’s bargaining talks with Hollywood studios and streamers, the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers. With one of Hollywood’s longest actors’ strikes to date behind us, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) members earned pattern-breaking wage increases, AI protections, and bonuses for well-performing streaming projects. Costume designers, camera operators, sound engineers, and lightning technicians, who are among the 170,000 members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), are looking to do the same.
Despite standing in solidarity with Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA members, they felt the brunt of the strike- and pandemic-induced work stoppage. A dozen camera operators, stage managers, post-production editors, and production assistants spoke to Rolling Stone last August on how the double strike depleted their savings account or forced them to pick up side gigs at local grocery stores, restaurants, and Target. Unlike their onscreen counterparts who profit from brand deals and rerun checks, crew members get paid for work completed during production. The Motion Picture & Television Fund, a financial relief fund, reported that of their financial assistance calls, 80 percent came from crew members.
As crew unions like IATSE and the Hollywood Basic Crafts coalition, which makes up five smaller entertainment crew unions, gathered at the bargaining table with Hollywood studios this week, the potential of a crew-led strike remains top of mind. It was a difficult summer for what are known as below-the-line members, and despite hesitancy around a third work stoppage, Teamsters western region vice president Lindsay Dougherty told rally goers Sunday that if Hollywood studios couldn’t offer a fair deal, “We will shut them down for good.” Here’s what entertainment crews are pushing for and the potential for another hot labor summer.
What are the negotiations?
IATSE, Hollywood Teamsters — whose members include animal trainers, wranglers, couriers, and drivers — and other Hollywood Basic Crafts unions began negotiations Monday on their shared motion picture industry pension and health plans, marking the first joint negotiation on retirement and health benefits since 1988.
They aim to secure additional funding from streamers for the plans, increase retirement accrual rates, and prevent health coverage cuts. Crew unions do not receive residuals, or payment for reruns, like actors do. Instead, residuals fund these benefits.
“Our folks understand the business they’re in, the sacrifices and precarious nature of employment, and they work within that environment anyway,” IATSE international president Matthew Loeb wrote in a Monday statement to union members. “But there’s no reason these companies can’t build in more protection, reliability, and predictability that creates more security.”
Members have also pushed for increased, inflation-adjusted wages, updates to overtime pay, staffing minimums, and additional safety protocols. Following the accidental shooting death of a Rust cinematographer, and a crew member’s fatal fall while working on the set for Marvel’s Wonder Man last month, workers have heightened concerns around general safety. The Washington Post released a documentary last march, Quiet on Set, and spoke with union crew members who alleged 18-hour days have led to dangerous accidents, along with sexism and racism off-screen. Vanessa Holtgrewe, an IATSE assistant department director, wrote she hopes they can readdress these long work days at the bargaining table.
“We were successful in 2021 at creating stiff penalties for excessively and continuously late meals,” Holtgrewe, a member of IATSE’s negotiating committee, wrote in a statement to Rolling Stone. “We also secured an additional 10-hour rest period for more classifications, and a required weekend rest period. But there is certainly significant room for improvement in working conditions, and we will look to secure additional economic provisions to heavily disincentivize extraordinarily long days.”
In previous years, IATSE has prioritized touchpoints like wage increases and higher living allowances for nearby and distant hires. After reaching their last agreement in 2021, crew members received a three-percent wage increase. (SAG-AFTRA and WGA members received seven-percent and five-percent bumps, respectively, following their deal with Hollywood studios.)
Although rank-and-file crew members do not face the direct threat of being replaced by AI-generated scripts or digital clones of the dead, AI advances could leave them vulnerable. Unionized actors took measures in their last contract to protect their image and likeness, such as requiring prior consent for the creation of digital replicas. For crews who rely on in-person performance for their income, contractual language around AI is a top concern, Hotgrewe added.
“Adding new language to our contracts addressing artificial intelligence is a priority in these negotiations, as it was for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA during their talks last year,” Hotgrewe wrote. “AI and machine learning are not only in the news, they’re at the forefront of our members’ minds and we will be looking to create some guardrails for these new technologies, their use in our workplaces, and then improving working conditions.”
Will there be another strike?
Below-the-line workers have come close to striking in the past. About 98-percent of crew members voted in favor of a strike authorization in October 2021, marking the first strike approval in the union’s 128-year history. Despite this, the decision was curbed after studio leadership stayed at the table and narrowly approved a deal that secured wage increases and additional funding for health benefits. A Hollywood studio representative wrote in a statement that the AMPTP aims to put money back in crew members’ pockets.
“As we enter negotiations, the AMPTP [Hollywood studios] is committed to engaging in an open and productive two-way dialogue with our union partners that focuses on keeping crew members on the job without interruption, recognizes the contributions they make to motion pictures and television, and reinforces a lasting collaboration that ensures the industry and those who work in it thrive for years to come,” wrote an AMPTP spokesperson.
After IATSE and Hollywood Basic Crafts coalition wrap negotiations with Hollywood studios, IATSE will hold separate chats with the studios, followed by Teamsters and Basic Crafts bargaining in June. IATSE noted on its campaign site that they may call for a strike authorization vote if no deal is reached by July 31. To Holtgrewe, the likelihood of a strike rests in the crew’s hands.
“We arrived at the table in 2024 to negotiate a deal with our employers, not a strike,” Holtgrewe writes. “But as President Loeb said during our rally in Los Angeles on March 3, it would be a huge mistake to question the resolve of our members to have their pressing needs and concerns addressed in this round of negotiations.”
Last summer, as unionized writers and actors striked for a combined six months against Hollywood studios, crew members marched and chanted by their side. On Sunday, the chants continued, as thousands of crew workers gathered for a Los Angeles rally ahead of Monday’s bargaining talks with Hollywood studios and streamers, the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers. With one of Hollywood’s longest actors’ strikes to date behind us, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) members earned pattern-breaking wage increases, AI protections, and bonuses for well-performing streaming projects. Costume designers, camera operators, sound engineers, and lightning technicians, who are among the 170,000 members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), are looking to do the same.
Despite standing in solidarity with Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA members, they felt the brunt of the strike- and pandemic-induced work stoppage. A dozen camera operators, stage managers, post-production editors, and production assistants spoke to Rolling Stone last August on how the double strike depleted their savings account or forced them to pick up side gigs at local grocery stores, restaurants, and Target. Unlike their onscreen counterparts who profit from brand deals and rerun checks, crew members get paid for work completed during production. The Motion Picture & Television Fund, a financial relief fund, reported that of their financial assistance calls, 80 percent came from crew members.
As crew unions like IATSE and the Hollywood Basic Crafts coalition, which makes up five smaller entertainment crew unions, gathered at the bargaining table with Hollywood studios this week, the potential of a crew-led strike remains top of mind. It was a difficult summer for what are known as below-the-line members, and despite hesitancy around a third work stoppage, Teamsters western region vice president Lindsay Dougherty told rally goers Sunday that if Hollywood studios couldn’t offer a fair deal, “We will shut them down for good.” Here’s what entertainment crews are pushing for and the potential for another hot labor summer.
What are the negotiations?
IATSE, Hollywood Teamsters — whose members include animal trainers, wranglers, couriers, and drivers — and other Hollywood Basic Crafts unions began negotiations Monday on their shared motion picture industry pension and health plans, marking the first joint negotiation on retirement and health benefits since 1988.
They aim to secure additional funding from streamers for the plans, increase retirement accrual rates, and prevent health coverage cuts. Crew unions do not receive residuals, or payment for reruns, like actors do. Instead, residuals fund these benefits.
“Our folks understand the business they’re in, the sacrifices and precarious nature of employment, and they work within that environment anyway,” IATSE international president Matthew Loeb wrote in a Monday statement to union members. “But there’s no reason these companies can’t build in more protection, reliability, and predictability that creates more security.”
Members have also pushed for increased, inflation-adjusted wages, updates to overtime pay, staffing minimums, and additional safety protocols. Following the accidental shooting death of a Rust cinematographer, and a crew member’s fatal fall while working on the set for Marvel’s Wonder Man last month, workers have heightened concerns around general safety. The Washington Post released a documentary last march, Quiet on Set, and spoke with union crew members who alleged 18-hour days have led to dangerous accidents, along with sexism and racism off-screen. Vanessa Holtgrewe, an IATSE assistant department director, wrote she hopes they can readdress these long work days at the bargaining table.
“We were successful in 2021 at creating stiff penalties for excessively and continuously late meals,” Holtgrewe, a member of IATSE’s negotiating committee, wrote in a statement to Rolling Stone. “We also secured an additional 10-hour rest period for more classifications, and a required weekend rest period. But there is certainly significant room for improvement in working conditions, and we will look to secure additional economic provisions to heavily disincentivize extraordinarily long days.”
In previous years, IATSE has prioritized touchpoints like wage increases and higher living allowances for nearby and distant hires. After reaching their last agreement in 2021, crew members received a three-percent wage increase. (SAG-AFTRA and WGA members received seven-percent and five-percent bumps, respectively, following their deal with Hollywood studios.)
Although rank-and-file crew members do not face the direct threat of being replaced by AI-generated scripts or digital clones of the dead, AI advances could leave them vulnerable. Unionized actors took measures in their last contract to protect their image and likeness, such as requiring prior consent for the creation of digital replicas. For crews who rely on in-person performance for their income, contractual language around AI is a top concern, Hotgrewe added.
“Adding new language to our contracts addressing artificial intelligence is a priority in these negotiations, as it was for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA during their talks last year,” Hotgrewe wrote. “AI and machine learning are not only in the news, they’re at the forefront of our members’ minds and we will be looking to create some guardrails for these new technologies, their use in our workplaces, and then improving working conditions.”
Will there be another strike?
Below-the-line workers have come close to striking in the past. About 98-percent of crew members voted in favor of a strike authorization in October 2021, marking the first strike approval in the union’s 128-year history. Despite this, the decision was curbed after studio leadership stayed at the table and narrowly approved a deal that secured wage increases and additional funding for health benefits. A Hollywood studio representative wrote in a statement that the AMPTP aims to put money back in crew members’ pockets.
“As we enter negotiations, the AMPTP [Hollywood studios] is committed to engaging in an open and productive two-way dialogue with our union partners that focuses on keeping crew members on the job without interruption, recognizes the contributions they make to motion pictures and television, and reinforces a lasting collaboration that ensures the industry and those who work in it thrive for years to come,” wrote an AMPTP spokesperson.
After IATSE and Hollywood Basic Crafts coalition wrap negotiations with Hollywood studios, IATSE will hold separate chats with the studios, followed by Teamsters and Basic Crafts bargaining in June. IATSE noted on its campaign site that they may call for a strike authorization vote if no deal is reached by July 31. To Holtgrewe, the likelihood of a strike rests in the crew’s hands.
“We arrived at the table in 2024 to negotiate a deal with our employers, not a strike,” Holtgrewe writes. “But as President Loeb said during our rally in Los Angeles on March 3, it would be a huge mistake to question the resolve of our members to have their pressing needs and concerns addressed in this round of negotiations.”
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