The Teamsters ratified their contract several weeks ago. However, four other basic crafts (plumbers, plasterers, electricians and laborers) negotiate alongside the Teamsters. Ratification by those unions was expected and, indeed, the AMPTP said today that the last of those just ratified their contract. Here's the organization's press statement:
"The five Basic Crafts Unions have now ratified new contracts with the producers represented by the AMPTP, ensuring that production can continue without interruption for the studios and union members. The two sides reached a fair deal with gains in wages, benefits and other terms for the unions while recognizing the current economic realities of the industry. This would not have been possible without hard work and commitment of the leadership of each of the Basic Crafts Unions, whose negotiating committee was chaired by Local 399 Secretary-Treasurer Leo T. Reed. The five Basic Crafts Unions are International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No. 40, Plumbers, Local No. 78, Teamsters, Local No. 399, Studio Utility Employees, Local No. 724, and Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons, Local No. 755."
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Ratification of Teamsters / Basic Crafts Contract Complete
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Rosenberg v. SAG Lawsuit Dismissed
The lawsuit filed 1-1/2 years ago by SAG's then-president Alan Rosenberg against his own union has finally been formally dismissed, according to court records and a source with knowledge of the matter. The formal dismissal actually came in late July, but appears not to have previously been reported. The dismissal was expected, as the judge had ruled on the matter a month earlier.
The action ends with a whimper a suit that attempted to reinstate SAG's previous National Executive Director, Doug Allen, and impede the ultimate achievement of the 2009 agreement between SAG and the studios and producers.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
IATSE and Teamsters Reach Mutual Assistance Pact
SAG National Board Candidates Announced
Ballots in Hollywood and New York will be mailed on August 24 with a return deadline and tabulation on September 23. Election results are expected to be announced that evening.
The Hollywood Division will elect 13 national board members and 22 alternates. Twelve candidate positions will be seated for a three year term and one candidate position will be seated for a one (1) year term (all national board alternates serve for one year).
The New York Division will elect five national board members and nine alternates. Each seat is for a three-year term.
Directors holding nine other national board seats will be elected from SAG Branches outside Hollywood and New York. Most of them have already been elected - see below.
Note that anyone from Hollywood who is on the national board is automatically a member of the Hollywood board as well, but not vice versa.
1. Clancy Brown (MF)
All listed candidates are part of United Screen Actors Nationwide, a NY based slate that generally votes the same as UFS, with the exception of Tom Nonnon, who is independent.
1. Manny Alfaro
Arizona
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Prop 8 Overturned - Retrievable Copy of Decision
Federal Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco has struck down as unconstitutional California's Proposition 8, which prohibited same-sex marriage. Want to take a deep dive and read the 136 page decision? It's almost impossible to find a copy, since servers (including the most linked-to Scribd copy) are overloaded. Here's a Scribd copy that's easily downloadable and has only been read by fewer than 100 people as of this writing:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35377082/Judge-Overturns-California-s-Proposition-8.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Breakthrough in Teamsters talks; deal ratified
In a surprising development, Hollywood Teamsters leaders at a standing room only membership meeting this morning asked the membership to ratify a 2 year contract proposed by the studios. The membership then voted 97.3% to 2.7% to ratify, ending the possibility of a strike that could have shuttered much film and television production.
Most remarkably, the package that the leadership recommended -- which was achieved in back-channel negotiations Saturday afternoon -- differed little from the package the union rejected Friday night. The three Saturday enhancements were minor, and included such matters as reimbursement for Teamsters' renewal of their drivers licenses.
In essence, the union blinked, recognizing that a strike was not feasible in this economic climate. Union leaders also said they believed that management would not back down even if the union struck.
For details, see my Hollywood Reporter story.
Teamsters Ratify Contract; Strike Averted
In a surprising development, Hollywood Teamsters leaders at a standing room only membership meeting this morning asked the membership to ratify a 2 year contract proposed by the studios. The membership then voted 97.3% to 2.7% to ratify, ending the possibility of a strike that could have shuttered much film and television production.
For details, see my Hollywood Reporter story.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Teamsters, studios fail to break stalemate
Talks between the studios and Hollywood Teamsters Local 399 ended late Friday night with no movement and no new negotiating sessions scheduled. The union meets in Burbank early Sunday morning, where the leadership is expected to seek – and obtain – a strike authorization vote from members. That authorization would, in turn, allow union leaders to call a strike at any time after the July 31 expiration of their contract with the studios and producers.
For further details, see my piece in the Hollywood Reporter.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Transportation strike could paralyze Hollywood
Believe it or not, Hollywood may be headed for another work stoppage in just two weeks. In 2007-2008, the Writers Guild struck, shuttering television and film production. In 2008-2009, a Screen Actors Guild stalemate lingered for almost a year, shutting down primarily film production. This time, the Hollywood Teamsters may strike - and that could immediately halt television and film production. For details, see my exclusive Hollywood Reporter story.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Musicians Play a New (Media) Tune
In the “While you were out” department, the American Federation of Musicians and the studios signed a new deal . . . four months ago. But don’t feel like we’re late to the party — the deal doesn’t seem to have been reported in the Hollywood press. Talk about sotto voce. The negotiations themselves concluded in early November of last year, as I reported at the time, but it apparently took a while to reduce the deal to writing.
There are several items of note (so to speak) in the signed agreement, which runs through February 23, 2013:
* Wage increases are small by most Hollywood union standards: 1.5% or 2% per year. However, the increases in the AFM’s previous signed agreement also weren’t large by those standards, where 3.0%-3.5% have been the recent norm. Thus, it’s unclear if these numbers signify anything about the size of increases that the above the line unions will achieve in the upcoming (October 1 and beyond) cycle of bargaining.
* The Health Plan is being juggled around a bit. One thing that stands out apparently mirrors a provision in the IATSE health plan deal: up to 1% of the wage increases can be converted instead to an increased contribution to the health plan, if necessary for the plan’s financial reserves. That’s intriguing, because what usually happens in the above the line guilds and unions is that at most 0.5% of a wage increase goes instead to an increased P&H contribution. Depending on the needs of the above the line health plans (each union or guild has its own), we might see a 1% conversion in the upcoming negotiations.
* The New Media template adopted by the above the line unions and guilds and by IATSE has now been adopted by the Musicians as well. The AFM deal resembles the IA’s, in that there are somewhat fewer residuals than the above the line unions and guilds achieved. For instance, when a television show is streamed on ad-supported new media (such as the free version of Hulu), the above the line unions and guilds receive residuals but IATSE and AFM don’t.
