All film television crews which are part of the union have taken up going on a nationwide strike that could paralyze filming in the future until a resolution undergoes creation. Matters have significantly broken down between the many Hollywood studios and The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. The disagreement is so transparent that over 95% of those voted for this strike.

The Cause

For those out of the Hollywood loop, you must ask yourself how matters reached this point where discussions for a nationwide strike took place. You see, for years now, the IATSE has been looking to gain more improvements from their line of work which includes but isn’t limited to safer work conditions on the set, along with better work hours and benefits. Other demands include possibly having weekends off, which is undoubtedly proving to be a point of contention between the two negotiating parties.

Hollywood response

When it comes to Hollywood, or more specifically, the response of the AMPTP, it has been more or less mixed. Though the strike hasn’t yet been made official or called in ultimately, one can tell that Hollywood officials are not pleased that matters have progressed up to this point. Of course, they’ve openly thanked IATSE for looking out for their workers and their ability to find a solution to this crisis without calling in the strike. The AMPTP is most definitely thankful for this since their industry hasn’t completely recovered from the effects of the COVID pandemic, which requires discussion.

COVID Impact

With all of this going on, one cannot understate just how much leverage the IATSE has over Hollywood, thanks to how COVID has impacted the film and TV-making industry. As you may recall, many movies are receiving delays due to the closure of theatres. These movies immediately found themselves being released later, like Black Widow. Hundreds of films were now being released on streaming services like on Disney+ to try and get some form of monetary compensation out of the ordeal with mixed results. With all of this occurring, it stands to reason that many significant Hollywood officials want to avoid a nationwide strike as much as possible to prevent any hiccups that could come their way. It’s even more critical, especially with movie theatres opening again and actual revenue coming into their pockets.

Conclusion

With the call of a strike not being far off and tempers flaring, it will be interesting to see what comes out of the meeting of IATSE and AMPTP. It will be very telling to see if the film and tv crews get everything or just a portion of what they want. It’s highly doubtful that they’ll walk away with nothing since Hollywood has the most to lose if negotiations break down.