Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien addresses over 2,000 Motion Picture Teamsters via Zoom ahead of last scheduled week of negotiations with the AMPTP for Teamsters Local 399 Agreements.
Los Angeles – On Sunday, July 14th, Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien and Motion Picture Division Director, and Chief Negotiator for Local 399, Lindsay Dougherty hosted a webinar for Motion Picture Teamsters across North America. Over 2,000 rank-and-file members attended the call to hear an update around the state of Hollywood negotiations with the AMPTP, and how the Division continues to stand united as Local 399 enters its last week of scheduled bargaining with the AMPTP.
President O’Brien highlighted the support Hollywood Teamsters have throughout the General Executive Board, Motion Picture Division and within the ranks of the 1.3million Teamsters across all represented industries.
“While there is an active contract fight in Hollywood with the AMPTP, across this country Motion Picture Teamsters have been standing up to these studios and giant corporations to demand a fair share and protect our work,” said President O’Brien.
Also on today’s call were Division representatives from the Eastern Region, New York Teamsters Local 817, Brian Salomone, Southern Region, Teamsters Local 728, Vinny Thrift, Western Region, Local 399, Joshua Staheli, and Assistant Division Director from Boston Local 25, Billy Benner.
Since Teamsters do not have a national agreement with the AMPTP, the distinction was made between how Hollywood, New York and Canada bargain term agreements with the AMPTP compared to other filming hotspots like Georgia, Massachusetts, Louisiana, that bargain one-off contracts with the studios and streamers. Earlier this year, when renewing terms and conditions of the one-off project deals across the country, the Division began to align contract expirations to the July 31st date to coincide with the Hollywood Agreements.
“Over the past year, the Division has been able to bargain one-off project deals that have raised standards, compensation, protections and more throughout the Industry for Teamsters,” said Division Director Dougherty. “By aligning expiration dates, we would have the ability to scale any gains made in Hollywood across the Division, while also building leverage and power at the table with a shared deadline.”
Negotiations began on June 10th for the Hollywood Basic Crafts, which includes Teamsters Local 399, and this upcoming Friday, July 19th is currently the last scheduled date of bargaining.“We have a week of negotiations ahead of us starting tomorrow and we are prepared to spend as much time as necessary to get these deals done before contract expiration,” said Dougherty on this morning’s call. “I want to be clear; we aren’t looking for a strike, we’re fighting for a fair deal for our members. We won't, however, bargain against ourselves, we won’t be intimidated to take our priorities off the table, and we won’t be taking any concessions.”
Today’s call highlighted the solidarity and commitment to fight not just on behalf of Hollywood Teamsters, but for the working conditions and compensation for all Motion Picture Teamsters.
“We have to keep fighting and we are not scared to do so.” Dougherty continued. “Negotiations are never just about the current state of the industry. What is fought for in any bargaining cycle has the potential to impact workers past, present and for decades to come. And what has already been fought for that benefits our members today, is our responsibility to protect.”
General President O’Brien concluded today with advice to the employers to frame the last week of scheduled negotiations.
“I encourage the studios and streamers to invest their money in our members and use this last week to listen to our issues and weigh the reasonable costs of our proposal’s verse the worth of our work,” said General President O’Brien. “I can guarantee it’s a better investment to spend your money on the Teamster workforce across this country that builds your product, than waste your money halting the industry and your profits, again.”
Teamsters represent 1.3million members across North America, with over 15,000 members part of the Motion Picture Division. The Division will continue to update members on the state of discussions throughout the week.
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