Below-the-line workers in Hollywood represented by IATSE, Teamsters and other trade unions sat down Monday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), beginning the first step in a lengthy contract negotiation process.

If the unions can’t reach a deal with the AMPTP by the time the current contract expires on July 31, IATSE’s negotiating committee may call for a strike authorization vote. 

And if ultimately a strike vote were to pass, below-the-line workers including motion picture animators, camera operators and production technicians would stop work until a new tentative agreement is reached.

Sound familiar?

In addition to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees  and Teamsters Local 399, the other guilds participating in joint negotiations are 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.

All of the aforementioned groups' contracts expire on July 31, and IATSE has already stated it's “not interested in extending this agreement.” But considering the complexity of negotiations with this many unions, forging an agreement with the AMPTP could prove trickier than what transpired last year with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, which both conducted paralyzing strikes lasting through the summer. 

Covering more than 60,000 industry members, IATSE has two sets of contracts on the table: the Basic Agreement, which encompasses 13 of the union’s local Hollywood constituencies; and the Area Standards Agreement, which covers 26 locals outside of Los Angeles. Negotiation for the Area Standards agreement are expected to begin later in April.

IATSE underwent a difficult contract negotiation in 2021, taking multiple bargaining extensions, and only ratified a new deal after a six-month long process. 

IATSE’s extensions in the last bargaining process also delayed the Teamsters’ negotiations -- the group didn't begin talks with the AMPTP until December, almost six months after its contract’s expiration date.

Wages are sure to be a focal point of negotiations, especially given the effects of inflation, pandemic-related shutdowns and work stoppages due to last summer’s strikes.

The guilds will begin by trading initial proposals for the basic agreement, and update membership with regular developments at the table, according to IATSE’s website.

Once those general negotiations finish, the other unions will step aside as each of IATSE’s 13 local unions have the chance to bargain on the terms of their guild’s basic agreement during the next several weeks.

Union members then have to vote again to decide whether to ratify the proposed deal.

While it’s liable to be a lengthy negotiation process, both sides are likely hesitant to initiate another work stoppage after last year’s summer of strikes cost an estimated $6 billion in lost wages and business impacts across California and other production-heavy states, according to Reuters.

With the Hollywood's lengthy WGA and SAG-AFTRA work stoppages finally in the rear-view, film and TV production is set to hit full stride again by mid-January. 

But as the Penske showbiz trades first reported this week, labor peace could be short-lived. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which represents more than 170,000 behind-the-scenes entertainment workers, will soon seek to negotiate its own contract with studios that expires July 31. 

IATSE is expected to began its negotiations with producers in March, seeking a new deal for editors, lighting technicians and other behind-the-scenes workers.

Also up for renegotiation is the Basic Crafts contract, which protects Teamsters — drivers, animal wranglers and other below-the-line crew members.

During a time of rising worker solidarity — IATSE members, for example, picketed alongside writers and actors over the summer during their strikes — it’s unclear whether Hollywood studios have achieved lasting labor peace.

“We believe in an industry where every worker is valued and their contributions recognized, whether their labor takes place on or off screen,” IATSE said in a statement on its website. “As all eyes shift to our union’s own upcoming negotiations with the AMPTP in 2024 … we are primed to roll out an unprecedented campaign of member engagement, communication and transparency to secure the best possible contracts in the eyes of our membership as well.”

Both studios and the below-the-line workforce have struggled financially through the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. And while IATSE may be inspired by the negotiations of other unions, entering a new work stoppage likely won’t be a decision made lightly.

“The prolonged negotiations and resulting shutdown caused intense hardship for workers in our industry throughout the world,” added IATSE’s statement. “With so many facing urgent difficulty making ends meet, it is now imperative the studios work with the entertainment guilds and unions to focus on a swift and safe resumption of production to mitigate further financial strain and prevent unnecessary harm on our community.”

Some workers saw the strike on the horizon and had money saved up, but for many, the six-month stoppage was far longer than anticipated.

IATSE members have suffered arguably as much as their striking WGA and SAG-AFTRA peers, and they will likely seek compensation to make up for lost wages in the form of an improved labor contract.

In fact, two years ago, IATSE members came within a few votes of rejecting their last contract. That would have resulted in the union’s first industrywide strike in its history.

In an October communication to members, the Motion Picture Editors Guild (an IATSE subsidiary) revealed the implementation of a new contract action team, which bears similarity to the WGA’s contract captain model.

“We don’t expect the next round of negotiations to be easy,” the Editors Guild said in its statement. “We know that we need to be prepared to fight for the contract we deserve. In any fight, a union is only as strong as its membership is united, informed and engaged.”

The Teamsters union is putting its muscle behind a broadcaster effort discouraging the FCC from modifying its "totality of circumstances" test for good-faith retransmission-consent negotiations.

In a letter to the FCC this week, Teamsters president James Hoffa said the Teamsters play "integral" roles in TV and move production and that anything, like a change in the test, that could negatively impact the retrans money broadcasters get from MVPDs "could then affect the Teamsters members that produce feature films, television programs and commercials."

Echoing arguments made by broadcasters, Hoffa said most negotiations are successful "without incident," showing that the test works and does not need any modification.

Hoffa said the FCC "should not alter a system which has been working by interfering with the ability of broadcasters to negotiate these agreements.

He said "protecting" the current "totality of circumstances" test, by extension, protects Teamster jobs.

MVPDs argue that the regime is tilted toward broadcasters through must-carry requirements and exclusivity protections and is pushing for bans on retrans blackouts and outside arbitration for impasses, as well as preventing online content withholding.