With IATSE’s deal nonetheless up within the air, Teamsters Native 399 is taking over the mantle Monday to barter on a brand new three-year contract with the studios.
On behalf of her members, Teamsters Native 399 chief Lindsay Dougherty is able to drive a tough cut price with the Alliance of Movement Image and Tv Producers. Doughtery tells Deadline she’s anticipating the identical in return.
“I believe on this contract cycle, they’re going to cut price onerous,” she mentioned in an interview forward of Monday’s negotiations. “There may be some factor of chess taking part in in negotiations, however I believe, on the finish of the day, we simply must maintain preventing for what our members deserve till we get it.”
Along with serving as chief negotiator for these talks, Dougherty can be the Teamsters Movement Image Division director and Western Area Vice President in addition to Chairperson of the Hollywood Primary Crafts. She has already sat throughout the desk from the Carol Lombardini-led AMPTP throughout this bargaining cycle, for the reason that Primary Crafts linked arms with IATSE to barter the phrases of their joint advantages starting in Might.
Up to now, the small print on these proposals usually are not drilled down. As Deadline understands it, pension contributions have already arisen as a sticking level between the unions and the studios, because the unions are in search of the replenish the funds with extra important will increase than up to now. The pension fund, which employers pay into, has taken a extreme hit over the past a number of years as many below-the-line crew have been unemployed for prolonged durations of time throughout pandemic shutdowns and final yr’s historic twin strikes.
That’s simply certainly one of a number of priorities for Dougherty, who tells Deadline “the underlying theme of most of our proposals is respect.”
“We simply need our members to get their fair proportion for the work that they do and, actually, our proposals are extraordinarily affordable and intensely real looking, as a result of, once more, these are issues that the studios and the streamers have already agreed to with many different unions,” she mentioned.
Within the interview beneath, Dougherty particulars a number of the Teamsters’ priorities for a brand new three-year deal and explains how she’s juggling the emotions of members, who’ve been by means of a tricky couple of years. She additionally takes goal at highly effective producers for whom she says the “guidelines” don’t apply.
DEADLINE: Let’s speak by means of a few of your priorities throughout this bargaining cycle. In fact, advantages are a giant one.
LINDSAY DOUGHERTY: The priorities for our members are all the time pension and well being. That’s a part of being underneath a collective bargaining settlement is having a Cadillac healthcare plan. So clearly, that’s necessary to protect that. After which secondly, pension contributions. One of many largest complaints that we’ve had from our members up to now after they retire is that their pension is simply not sufficient to reside off of, particularly in a state like California, which is costlier than most states. So that’s one thing that we’ve checked out. [We’ve] checked out different Taft Hartley plans, different pension plans, and we’ve seen that, it’s merely lower than our requirements, or Teamster requirements. In order that’s certainly one of our massive points as effectively.
DEADLINE: You’ve already begun discussing advantages with the AMPTP, collectively with the opposite unions. Do you are feeling like progress is being made? Has it helped to have the opposite unions there as effectively?
DOUGHERTY: I believe so. I believe it’ll even enhance as years go, as a result of we clearly haven’t completed this earlier than. The final time that we’ve really bargained alongside them is in 1988. All of us have members that take part, or are members within the Pension and Well being Fund, so all of us have the identical priorities when it comes to our members working in the identical trade. In order that’s one thing that I believe will develop and even get stronger all through the years, nevertheless it has been positively useful, as a result of traditionally, we simply haven’t been a part of that dialog.
DEADLINE: What about wage will increase? That is already turning into a hot-button challenge with IATSE. What are you searching for on that entrance?
DOUGHERTY: Even the final contract cycle, we began bargaining in late 2021 and concluded negotiations early in 2022 and that was throughout the top of inflation. We had points with accepting 3% within the first yr that cycle, and clearly there’s different enhancements we made to the contract, and that was a contract that was overwhelmingly ratified. Nevertheless, we’re in a time frame now the place our members nonetheless endured inflation, greater than only one yr, after which endured a twin strike, the place they didn’t have any earnings throughout that point. We nonetheless have some members which can be recovering from the pandemic in 2020, as a result of clearly there was time the place they weren’t working throughout the pandemic. With the price of residing in California, and taking a look at what a number of the different unions have gotten — like SAG-AFTRA getting a 7% improve — and all these years we’ve been subjected to this sample bargaining from the AMPTP, and so our members expect not less than 7%, as a result of they’ll’t have it each methods. We take a look at different contracts that we now have and different industries on the market, and we now have a industrial settlement, and people wages are in direction of 21% greater than the wages within the Black E book settlement that we now have for almost all of our members, that are the drivers. So these are clearly issues that we’re all taking a look at after which basing our proposals off that these details.
DEADLINE: I can solely think about that the studios might say the identical factor, that it’s been a tricky few years and so they’re recovering from a twin strike as effectively. What’s your response to one thing like that?
DOUGHERTY: Effectively, even all through time, we’ve seen these main studios haven’t been as worthwhile as they’re now. You see the bounce again from COVID, clearly, that was the peak of the streaming bubble. I believe to a point, there was an expectation that the work would come again, much like publish COVID numbers. For those who’re following the trade, or the sample of the trade…it’s unrealistic to suppose that it might be that busy. But additionally, I believe most individuals don’t know, particularly should you’ve simply began out in an trade the place it’s been busy for the final 10 years, and that’s primarily due to the movie and tv tax credit score that we now have within the state of California, as a result of even post-writers strike of ’07-08, the trade didn’t bounce again instantly to what we had seen previous to that. That was a time the place California didn’t have a movie and tv tax credit, and there was different states like Georgia and Louisiana that have been capturing work post-writers strike again then.
Now we’re seeing folks realizing that, with the movie and tv tax credit worldwide, we’re not solely having to be aggressive with different states, however we now have to be aggressive worldwide. That’s only a completely different recreation. I imply, again within the Nineteen Nineties, Canada had their tax credit score, however now you have got over 40 international locations which have tax credit. This isn’t one thing that simply began in 2023 or 2024. This has been ongoing. It’s not predictable, our trade, however clearly we’re seeing extremes the place folks simply need some normalcy, which I believe we’ll see subsequent yr. However on the similar time, we’re not prepared to take much less due to the state of the trade at this second, like we now have been. We’ve taken concessions years in the past when the studios weren’t doing so effectively. We haven’t been doing that for a few years, but in addition, [we have not been] not getting what we’d like for our members within the final a number of contract cycles, which, even should you put aside the twin strikes from final yr, a few of these points, would nonetheless stay, as a result of these have been points that we had years in the past, earlier than the strikes occurred final yr. A few of these are proposals that we’ve been asking for years, after which a few of these proposals are enhancements that the studios have made, most lately, to different unions — whether or not they’re Teamsters or different unions all through the nation — however they’ve made these enhancements to those different staff, which we’re asking, ‘Effectively, why aren’t you giving our members these enhancements?’ It’s Hollywood. It’s the epicenter of movement image making. Why wouldn’t you wish to reward the folks that not solely work day in, day trip, however generations of staff at this level?
DEADLINE: As I discussed, IATSE is already combating the wage improve proposals. How are you feeling understanding earlier than you even step within the room that that is in all probability going to be a ache level?
DOUGHERTY: Effectively, look, I believe that the studios expect us to need not less than 7%, however I don’t count on the studios to simply give it to us willingly. They don’t do something out of the kindness of their hearts. I believe on this contract cycle, they’re going to cut price onerous. They clearly have extra eyes on them from folks on the firms, whether or not it’s the CEOs or manufacturing executives, however they’ve folks to reply to. The expiration of all of our agreements are July 31. I don’t anticipate they’re going to be making these nice strides and counter proposals and giving us what we wish proper now. I imply, there may be some factor of chess taking part in in negotiations, however I believe, on the finish of the day, we simply must maintain preventing for what our members deserve till we get it.
DEADLINE: What about streaming, notably in terms of residuals. What are the priorities there?
DOUGHERTY: Effectively, with streaming, there’s a number of points that most of the unions and guilds have had traditionally, and that’s agreeing to phrases and situations throughout the time by which streaming was model new and making what could be thought of concessions to their settlement. As a result of when there’s a technological change in trade, it’s deemed as being model new — and that is the corporate’s perspective, that they want breaks and wages or advantages or no matter it is perhaps, as a result of that is very new and unpredictable approach of doing enterprise, which they don’t know if it’s going to achieve success. Effectively, now we’re in a unique time the place we now have seen the success. We’ve seen that streaming is the long run and twine chopping is most positively occurring, and fundamental cable can be out of date fairly quickly. So these concessions that have been made, now the unions try to claw again. Fortunately for the Teamsters, we by no means actually agreed to these phrases and situations…whether or not it’s compensation and wages or additional time provisions or these issues which can be thought of working situations.
So we, I consider, have a fairly good deal with on it, however we simply agreed to streaming in our final contract negotiations. So we’re not making an attempt to essentially claw again issues that we agreed to within the early 2000s, however I’ll say with residuals, that’s most positively an enormous precedence, as a result of that’s how our pension and well being fund is partly funded, is thru this residual stream. Clearly, streaming is the long run, as I discussed, and there are streaming residuals that we simply don’t have outlined in our contracts. We’re not getting the funds from that, and we’d like that. We want that in instances that there might not be as many contribution hours going into the fund. However we most positively must seize these residuals, as a result of we’re shedding the opposite residuals which can be out of date that concern conventional media.
DEADLINE: From a course of standpoint, the residuals pay into the pension fund, as you mentioned. However in terms of the construction of the residual funds, might it look much like what the opposite unions achieved final yr?
DOUGHERTY: It may very well be comparable, nevertheless it’s going to even be completely different, as a result of for SAG-AFTRA, DGA and WGA, these residuals are paid to the person staff as a type of compensation. For us, because the Teamsters, Hollywood Primary Crafts, IATSE, it’s paid into our pension and well being funds. You might take a look at it in the same approach of that, it’s a type of compensation for our members, as a result of they get a pension profit out of the MPIPHP funds. So it doesn’t actually matter. It’s cash from the success of the product that these firms not solely are in a position to produce and make a revenue, however they’re in a position to promote it over and over and over and nonetheless proceed to make further income. So we wish a share of that revenue, simply as we now have had traditionally for the reason that Sixties, which, you don’t see most industries doing that. They promote a product, and that’s it. They make the revenue. They don’t proceed to reuse it. In order that’s the place it’s comparable. However I’ll say, a few of these residuals that we’re making an attempt to seize on this spherical of bargaining, the opposite unions and guilds have captured years in the past, and so we’re asking for a similar factor that we’ve requested earlier than, and now we’re seeking to actually get these locked in in these negotiations.
DEADLINE: I assume AI will even be a part of the dialog?
DOUGHERTY: Oh yeah. I believe synthetic intelligence for any workforce in any trade must be a priority, and it must be a dialogue and negotiated in collective bargaining. So the studios know that we’ll be making a proposal. I don’t suppose there’s any thought of their thoughts that we wouldn’t be, particularly for Teamsters, we discuss autonomous automobiles each day. And this isn’t simply statewide, it’s all through the US…this can be a concern for lots of our members which can be truck drivers. In our bargaining unit for this cycle, we now have over 3,000 drivers, so we wish to know what these firms plan on doing with our members’ jobs, whether or not it’s having them make the most of synthetic intelligence as a instrument, or in the event that they plan on displacing our members. We most positively need to have the ability to negotiate that and have a dialog, and never simply have them be capable of do no matter they need, which clearly, that’s most positively the angle from these firms.
DEADLINE: I wish to dial in a bit additional on manufacturing leaving the U.S. This can be a enormous concern for a lot of below-the-line of us. How a lot of that’s one thing you may and plan to handle in bargaining, versus seeking to laws to assist in the type of tax credit and different incentives to maintain manufacturing within the U.S.?
DOUGHERTY: Effectively, look, I believe that when it comes to productions leaving Hollywood, runaway productions, we this has been a part of our dialogue as Teamsters for the reason that Nineteen Nineties, as I discussed earlier than. Throughout that point, in bargaining, as a result of productions have been going to Canada throughout these bargaining cycles within the 90s, the unions made concessions in an effort to maintain work in Los Angeles. Which means lesser wages, lesser working situations and issues of that nature. Clearly, it didn’t bode effectively for us, as a result of the businesses nonetheless proceed to go wherever the tax credit are, and that is smart from a enterprise standpoint, and we perceive that. So it has been a battle that the Teamsters have had perpetually and have been part of and have been instrumental in getting the present movie and tv tax credit score that we now have now, that was simply final yr carried out and put into funds for the state of California.
So that is an ongoing dialog we now have on a regular basis, however most positively that we now have to be extraordinarily aggressive about it as Californians, as a result of we’re seeing these different tax credit be drastically improved, to the purpose the place we’re not being aggressive sufficient. So we’re speaking to those politicians, we now have been for the final yr. However that’s our battle. Not solely will we negotiate with these firms in bargaining, however we’ve been preventing for his or her tax credit. So it’s a tough scenario to be in as a union, however we perceive that that is our members’ jobs on the road, so we now have to do all the pieces that we are able to in our energy to make sure that the elected politicians know the place we stand on these points and that they must do the precise factor.
DEADLINE: One different factor I needed to ask about is about security of crew. Is that this one thing that you’re planning to handle in any respect?
DOUGHERTY: Effectively, that’s why there are penalties constructed into our settlement, and that we now have negotiated all through the years, and that’s most definitely one thing that we’re taking a look at now, to extend these penalties, as a result of some productions usually are not going to movie extreme hours If it’s going to value them extra money with labor. However we see that a few of these firms or productions will proceed to movie movie extreme hours which can be approach excessive that the majority productions usually are not doing, and so they don’t even blink at the truth that it’s costing them extra money, so clearly they’ll afford it. In order that tells us that we must be asking for extra, which is strictly what we’re going to be doing when it comes to these penalties. As a result of, on the finish of the day, they’re going to must pay to play.
One factor I’ll add too, as a result of when a studio or an organization has any person [in demand], like a director or producer, they’ll allow them to movie so long as they need if that individual is making them some huge cash. We see it on a regular basis. There aren’t any guidelines, is what it appears to be, and the studios know that.
DEADLINE: That’s fascinating, since you aren’t the primary one who has mentioned that to me recently concerning the extra highly effective creators on this trade.
DOUGHERTY: These administrators that gained’t even break for lunch. Like Taylor Sheridan, I’ll say it, gained’t break for lunch. I imply, these are the reveals which can be uncontrolled.
DEADLINE: Is there anything you are feeling such as you wish to contact on relating to your upcoming negotiations?
DOUGHERTY: I might say that the underlying theme of most of our proposals is respect. We’re searching for parity with the opposite native unions which can be all through the nation, just like the Teamsters, which have, like I mentioned, enhancements which were made to their agreements all through time that we haven’t seen in Hollywood. After which there’s different unions and guilds which can be clearly handled in a different way in Hollywood. We simply need our members to get their fair proportion for the work that they do and, actually, our proposals are extraordinarily affordable and intensely real looking, as a result of, once more, these are issues that the studios and the streamers have already agreed to with many different unions.
DEADLINE: IATSE has already made it clear they gained’t prolong previous the July 31 deadline. Does the identical go for the Teamsters?
DOUGHERTY: So there was a mandate from our common president, Sean O’Brien, that no Teamster contracts in any trade or division might be prolonged. That mandate has been communicated to the AMPTP. I’ve advised AMPTP we won’t be extending their contracts. And moreover, not one of the different Teamster locals all through the nation can be extending their agreements, both, as a result of if we don’t have an expiration date, the studios will will proceed to tug issues on.
One last item — understanding the chaos that has ensued in our trade for the reason that final yr, I’ve been doing my due diligence to speak to the studios and labor relations executives and a number of the CEOs as effectively, and speak concerning the points that our members have and face day by day, in order that we might attempt to have a extra significant dialog in bargaining, as a result of though we’re going to aggressively problem them on this spherical of bargaining, we nonetheless wish to keep a great relationship with them. However, , that’s a two approach avenue, so we count on the identical from them as effectively.
