Teamsters, Basic Crafts Still At Odds With Studios Over Wage Issues As Contract Deadline Looms

No deal yet between the Hollywood Basic Crafts and the studios.

The Teamsters sent out a negotiations update in the early hours of Saturday morning saying that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television presented “what they characterized as a ‘last, best and final’ offer” on Friday — but it was a no-go for the unions.

“While our member-led committee considered the producer’s offer it was ultimately determined that it did not meet the negotiating committee’s approval,” the memo read, adding that they did submit another counterproposal “with what we know to be a deal that would be recommended for ratification.”

Deadline has reached out to the AMPTP for comment. This post will be updated if/when they respond.

Wage increases have been the major sticking point over the last several weeks as these talks have come down to the wire, which Deadline reported earlier this month. The unions’ current contract expires on July 31, and they’ve already said they are unwilling to extend the agreement to accommodate further bargaining.

Chief Negotiator and leader of the Teamsters Motion Picture Division Lindsay Dougherty said in a statement that the talks have made “significant progress,” just not enough.

“These aren’t just proposals on a piece of paper to our members. These are meaningful terms and conditions that impact their livelihoods. Without the committee’s recommendation, we got to work to deliver a counter late this evening. We think our response to the producer’s package is reasonable and would be a deal that gets this over the finish line,” she continued.

With only a few days left before the looming contract deadline, things are still very much up in the air. While it’s not clear yet how this will end, strike talk is already circling Hollywood again after SAG-AFTRA called a work stoppage on its Interactive Media Agreement with the major video game companies on Thursday over artificial intelligence (sound familiar?).

It’s not all bad news in Tinseltown though, as IATSE has already ratified a new three-year agreement with the AMPTP.

In a big win for union boss Matt Loeb after the tight ratification vote of 2021, the final vote tally on July 18 saw the West Coast locals-based Basic Agreement receive an 85.9% thumbs up, and the nationwide locals oriented Area Standards Agreement approved by 87.2% of voting members. The new three-year contracts will kick in starting August 1. The new agreements cover about 50,000 film and TV workers within IATSE’s 13 West Coast studio locals as well as another 20,000 in the 23 locals across the country.

Teamsters expect to have another update Sunday, following Local 399’s quarterly general membership meeting.