“They Should Fear Us”: Teamsters & IATSE Link Arms For March Contract Talks With Studios

No one has said the word “strike” yet, but some of Hollywood’s strongest unions just flexed some serious muscle with the studios.

With their current contracts set to end on July 21, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Teamsters Local 399 will stand in together in solidarity in upcoming negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The sit-down with the still Carol Lombardini -led AMPTP will kick off on March 4, sources tell Deadline.

Certain to set the stage for what could be another year of Tinseltown labor anxiety, IATSE and the Teamsters will be joined in talks on their shared Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan proposals by fellow Hollywood Basic Crafts groups the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 40 (IBEW), Laborers International Union of North America Local 724 (LiUNA!), United Association Plumbers Local 78 (UA) and Operating Plasterers & Cement Masons International Association (OPCMIA) Local 755.

While IATSE and the Hollywood Basic Crafts will still conduct their own negotiations with the AMPTP over local specific issues, the union of the unions over healthcare and pensions is a big blunt object against the studios that the old divide and conquer tactic won’t have much traction this year.

Coming off the bitter WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes of last year, and the sweet updated deal the favored nation DGA scored earlier this month with the studios, that is the point.

“Our members are the backbone of production,” Lindsay Dougherty, Teamsters Local 399 Principal Officer made clear Wednesday. “They give their blood, sweat and tears to this industry,” Chairperson of the Hollywood Basic Crafts added.

“They are owed the ability to retire with dignity and have the stability of plan funding to protect and increase benefits,” Dougherty said. “Fighting alongside IATSE on shared MPIPHP benefits will not only support all Hollywood crewmembers, but also remind the employers that when they can’t divide us, they should fear us. Nothing moves without the crew.”

Tp put a number to those crew, the Matthew Loeb-run IATSE represents 170,000 technicians, artisans and craftspersons in North America. With 1.3 million members nationwide, the Teamsters have 6,500 members in Local 399. The other Hollywood Basic Crafts have another 1,500 members in total. So, do the math – that’s 178,000 union members sitting at the table at the AMPTP’s Sherman Oaks’ offices.

All things considered, maybe be a little scared.

Today’s long whispered announcement of the joint talks, comes as Donald Trump sat down with Teamsters brass in DC in a Hail Mary move to get the union’s 2024 endorsement. With a standing invite to do the same, Joe Biden hasn’t yet spoken with the Teamster leadership in the same format.