IATSE leadership told members on Friday that they’re gaining “momentum” in negotiations with the studios, as another local union reached a tentative agreement.
IATSE Local 871, which represents script supervisors, writers’ assistants, accountants and others, reached an agreement on its craft-specific issues on Wednesday. That makes seven of the 13 West Coast locals that have reached tentative deals.
“The work continues for our remaining Locals’ Negotiating Committees, but there’s significant momentum created by these tentative agreements,” said Mike Miller, international vice president, in a message to members. “I congratulate the Negotiating Committee of Local 871 on their effective work.”
IATSE and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are set to begin bargaining on the Basic Agreement — which covers the most contentious issues affecting all 13 West Coast guilds — on April 29. The union’s contract does not expire until July 31, and negotiators have tried to set an unusually lengthy schedule in hopes of avoiding another industry-wide strike.
The Motion Picture Editors Guild is set to have its fifth day of talks on local-specific issues on Friday. Those talks have run longer than expected. The AMPTP has also bargained with Local 728, which represents lighting technicians, and with Local 892, which represents costume designers, though those talks have yet to produce agreements.
The local agreements cover issues like job classifications, safety standards, and wage scales particular to each craft. The general issues in the negotiations are not expected to be addressed until May, when the two sides take up items like pension and health funding, overall wage increases, and artificial intelligence.
The two sides had initially scheduled talks on the Area Standards Agreement — a parallel contract that covers 23 IATSE locals around the country — before the Basic Agreement talks. But they have since decided to switch the order around, tackling the Basic Agreement before the ASA.
If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, IATSE would likely call for a strike authorization vote, though that is not, as yet, a foregone conclusion. They would then return to the table for further negotiations once the vote was complete.
IATSE has also been working in coordination with Teamsters Local 399 and the other “Basic Crafts” unions, which are expected to hold their negotiations in June. That contract also expires on July 31. All of the unions have indicated they will not extend the expiration deadline.
