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The Teamsters are back at the bargaining table with the Hollywood studios Monday to negotiate a new three-year contract for casting professionals.
These are the bargaining unit’s first negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers since casting assistants voted for representation from Teamsters Local 399 and 817, joining casting directors and associated casting directors who have been organized within the union since 2006.
Deadline hears wage increases and protections are once again the top dealmaking priority.
That includes establishing minimum compensation for casting directors, as previously rates have been left entirely up to individual negotiation. The union is also looking to secure higher wage minimums for associate casting directors, sources tell Deadline.
These priorities also apply to casting assistants, though the focus with that group will be to include them in all collective contract provisions and establish an annual wage increase, according to sources. Currently the union represents 91 casting assistants, estimating that number could grow upward of 200.
The goal in getting assistants established within the contract is to “build from within to keep the legacy of casting going,” said Sherry Thomas, casting agreement negotiating committee member and co-founder of Bialy/Thomas & Associates.
“If you can’t give people the basics, which is health insurance, a pension, [and] a way to build, how do we keep the best of the best in our craft?” she told Deadline.
The current casting agreement expires on September 30. At this time, there is only one week of bargaining scheduled between the Teamsters and the AMPTP, but there is plenty of time before the deadline to look for more dates if needed.
That has been the case with most of the below-the-line crew negotiations this year, including those for the Hollywood Basic Crafts’ latest contract in July, which were extended several times.
The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839, also just scheduled more dates for its own bargaining in September, after failing to reach an agreement in one week.
Thomas says the casting agreement negotiating committee is entering these talks with a positive outlook, regardless of the unions’ previous friction with the AMPTP, in hopes of striking a deal without too much strife.
“We are not angry. We just want to be treated fairly,” she explained. “We are the first call that’s made from the studio, the writer, the director. We are literally the first person that’s on, sometimes even before the financing is in place, as their creative juices are flowing, and then they want to pair that with our creative juices. Our job, a lot of the times, is to push the boundaries and the limits of whatever the creative vision is.”
In a statement to Deadline, Teamsters Local 399 Chief Lindsay Dougherty said: “Our Teamster Casting members are fighters. They fought to organize back in 2006, they fought to be included in Academy Award consideration, and they advocate, support, and fight daily on behalf of actors in their pursuit of their career in this industry. This week will be about their fight for fair compensation and protections on the job. The art and craft of Casting deserves to not only be respected by the AMPTP but compensated correctly. We look forward to bringing their issues to the table this week with the studios and streamers.”
Casting professionals have already received support from several Hollywood unions and guilds including SAG-AFTRA, the WGA, and the DGA, which issued a statement on Friday ahead of talks, calling on the AMPTP to “negotiate in good faith, make meaningful moves on their core priorities and respect the art and craft of Casting Teamsters.”
“The Casting Department plays a critical role on any production, and work alongside many of our members to bring their creative visions to life. Casting professionals have championed our recent contract fights, and we now stand with them in their pursuit of a fair and equitable deal,” the statement read.
