IATSE Says ‘No Reason These Companies Can’t Build in More Protections’ as Health Plan Talks Begin

In his opening remarks on the first day of joint negotiations, Matthew D. Loeb, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), called on studios to craft a deal that gives members “more protection, reliability and predictability,” as well as “more security.”

“Our folks understand the business they’re in, the sacrifices and precarious nature of employment, and they work within that environment anyway,” Loeb said. “But there’s no reason these companies can’t build in more protection, reliability and predictability that creates more security.”

The remarks were shared in a member update, posted to IATSE’s official site following the conclusion of talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The guild is jointly negotiating for a new health and pension plan with Teamsters Local 399 and the Basic Crafts unions.

Talks began at about 2:00 p.m. Monday afternoon and ended before evening. According to IATSE, these talks are expected to continue through the whole week.

The specifics of the negotiations haven’t been disclosed, as the guilds and AMPTP are observing a media blackout. According to Deadline, the union consortium made their initial proposals but have not yet received a response from AMPTP.

The unions are jointly negotiating on terms related to the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan (MPIPHP), which handles healthcare and retirement plans for all of the unions’ members. Once these talks have concluded, the guilds will individually negotiate on new employment contracts.

IATSE will go first, with talks covering the Hollywood Basic Agreement, which applies to crew workers on Los Angeles-area productions, and the Area Standards Agreement, which applies to the rest of North America.

Teamsters and the Basic Crafts are both expected to kick off their own contract talks in June. All three guilds’ contracts expire July 31, and all three have said they don’t intend to extend the current deal beyond that date if talks are unsuccessful.

That vow does not amount to a formal strike threat, but IATSE leaders have indicated that the current health and pension talks will determine how they proceed. “Depending on the status of negotiations around this time, there will either be a strike authorization vote, or a ratification vote,” the guild told members in January.

That’s notable because Hollywood’s below-the-line workers were particularly hard hit by last year’s simultaneous WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which saw a total work stoppage that lasted 191 days.

However, the strike appears to have strengthened the resolve of the working class guilds, with IATSE in particular telling members in January, “Our Union is going into these negotiations UNITED and from a position of STRENGTH. We will be AGGRESSIVE at the table and do what it takes to win a contract that IATSE members expect, deserve and ratify.”

The Basic Crafts consists of 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.