Hollywood Could Be Facing Another Strike From the Teamsters and IATSE

Teamsters leader Sean O'Brien said the union is preparing for negotiations with movie and TV studios.

Writers hold signs while picketing in front of Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on May 15, 2023, as the strike by the Writers Guild of America enters its third week. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

With one major strike wrapping up, should Hollywood’s biggest studios prepare for another?

During Senate testimony on Nov. 14, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) General President Sean O'Brien said “in a few months” more than 7,000 Teamsters and members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada (IATSE) will “take on the big movie and TV studios.”

“Just as the WGA and the SAG-AFTRA members were forced out on strike this year, we have our own battle brewing with the AMPTP,” Mr. O'Brien told members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

He was referring to the Writers Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, respectively.

In October, the WGA ratified a new contract with the AMPTP to end its work stoppage. On Nov. 8, SAG-AFTRA reached a tentative agreement with the organization representing the interests of Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., The Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., Comcast Corp., Paramount Global, and Sony Group Corp.

This pair of deals effectively set the stage for America’s scripted entertainment industry to return to work after a grinding summer of strikes by leading writers and A-list actors.

In its latest release, published Nov. 9, the IATSE said “all eyes shift to our own union’s upcoming negotiations with the AMPTP in 2024.”

“Preparations are underway, and 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,” the release said.

The IATSE represents more than 168,000 technicians, artisans, and craftspeople in the entertainment industry, including live events, motion picture and television production, broadcast, and trade shows.

The Epoch Times reached out to the IBT, IATSE, and AMPTP for comment.

‘Taxpayer-Funded Pep Rally’

Mr. O'Brien spoke at a hearing focused on “standing up against corporate greed” designed to discuss how recent contract victories by the IBT and the United Auto Workers (UAW)—which claim 1.3 million members and 400,000 members, respectively—are improving the lives of working Americans.

Committee Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Americans are struggling, but corporations are doing better than ever. While productivity and technology progressed significantly over the past 50 years, Americans’ wages are down on average.

Rather than one worker supporting a household, two “breadwinners” are now needed to support a family. At the same time, Mr. Sanders said CEOs are making 350 times more than the average worker.

Mr. Sanders said labor unions winning new contracts pushes up pay and benefits for all workers. He pointed to recent wage increases announced by the competitors of companies where the IBT and UAW scored higher pay and better benefits in 2023.

Passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, Mr. Sanders said, would make it easier for labor to organize. The act, sponsored by Mr. Sanders, was last considered by the committee in July.

Committee Ranking Member Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) was dismissive of the legislation and the hearing. He said the Tuesday hearing was a “taxpayer-funded pep rally for big labor unions.” The act, he said, is not headed to the Senate floor for a vote, and he questioned whether the proceedings were worth the committee’s time.