October 18, 2021

International Film and TV Unions Drawing Inspiration From IATSE Dealmaking

(hollywoodreporter.com)

The new, tentative three-year film and TV deal agreed upon between the studios and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the union representing below-the-line entertainment workers, still has to be ratified by union members. But as IATSE rank-and-file go over the fine print, their colleagues outside the U.S. are already drawing inspiration from the deal reached in 11th-hour negotiations over the weekend.

With major labor negotiations heating up in the U.K., where below-the-line workers union Bectu is hammering out a new TV deal with British producers trade organization Pact, and in Germany, as the main actors’ union BFFS finalizes details of an overall agreement with the Produzentenallianz representing the country’s largest film and TV producers, the IATSE deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is being seen “as a real leap forward … it’s an inspiring moment for many unions [outside America] in what is a very difficult freelance labor market,” says Johannes Studinger, head of the media and entertainment sector of UNI Global Union, a Swiss-based umbrella group that represents more than 20 million workers from over 150 different countries in services sectors including the film and TV industries.

“Many of the issues they addressed are the same shared across the world. The unions in Europe and in other regions have been looking very closely at the talks and I think they have been inspired, by the solidarity and the resolve of the [IATSE] union members,” Studinger adds.

In response to the news of Sunday’s IATSE deal, Bectu head Philippa Childs tweeted: “Congratulations to @IATSE for holding firm and negotiating hard,” adding “#IASolidarity #UnionStrong.”

Bectu was keen to associate itself with IATSE during the U.S. negotiations, telling its U.K. members to “do nothing to undermine the IATSE action” and to turn down work if, in the event of a strike, they are offered to replace a striking IATSE member on a job.

But beyond the rhetoric of worker solidarity, it is unclear what impact the IATSE deal — assuming it is ratified — will have on union action overseas. The American film and television unions are the largest and most powerful in the entertainment industry, reflecting the size and global dominance of Hollywood. Their counterparts in most countries have far less influence and leverage over their employers, many of whom are the same Hollywood studios and streamers IATSE leadership negotiated with for its deal.

By: Scott Roxborough, Alex Ritman & Patrick Brzeski

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