IATSE, Teamsters & Studios Will Resume Talks March 18; Guilds Expected To Caucus Next Week

After four days of joint talks with the studios over health and pension benefits, IATSE, the Teamsters and other Hollywood Crafts will take next week to “caucus” and return to negotiations with the AMPTP on March 18.

“Negotiations have adjourned for the week. In terms of scheduling, union members are advised the Negotiations schedule is fluid and may be subject to change on short notice,” IATSE told members in a missive sent out this evening. “Next week, March 11-15 is expected to be a caucus week, meaning the employers and union Negotiating Committee only meet with themselves, and do not meet in joint sessions with both parties across the table.”

Said IATSE International Vice President Mike Miller: “In the coming weeks, we will continue to discuss the specifics of these proposals and provide periodic updates on our exchanges. In the meantime, our work continues.”

On March 5, the IATSE Basic Agreement Negotiating Committee and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers exchanged initial proposals for amendments to the IATSE Hollywood Basic Agreement, which covers the union’s 13 West Coast Studio Locals and roughly 50,000 members primarily in Los Angeles. IATSE’s proposals included measures to enhance contract enforcement, economic proposals to offset or exceed increased cost of living, and working conditions proposals that extend reasonable rest and drastically increase penalties for overworking, to name a few.

The talks this week have been fairly workman-like with the parties working out a schedule for the long term on both the benefits plans and individual issues for each guild and locals.

All eyes now are are on the AMPTP’s Sherman Oaks offices, as IATSE, Teamsters Local 399 and the Hollywood Basic Crafts link arms to discuss pension and health plans — the first step in a lengthy negotiation process that likely will extend well into the summer.

Also taking part in these joint negotiations are the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 40 (IBEW), Laborers International Union of North America Local 724 (LiUNA!), United Association Plumbers Local 78 (UA) and Operating Plasterers & Cement Masons International Association (OPCMIA) Local 755.

All current contracts expire on July 31, and IATSE already has made it clear it is not interested in extending. This might seem like a long runway to reach an agreement, but the process is substantially more complicated than those that occurred last year with the WGA, DGA and SAG-AFTRA.

Katie Campione and Erik Pedersen contributed to this report.