Hollywood Teamsters Ink Tentative Deal Early With Commercials Producers
The Hollywood Teamsters have reached a tentative labor agreement with commercials producers ahead of schedule in an attempt to avoid any disruption to work amid L.A.’s ongoing production crisis.
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The union and the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) shook hands on provisional three-year contracts for two covered groups before midnight on Thursday. The deal covers around 1,500 Teamsters members, including drivers, animal trainers and wranglers, chef assistants and location scouts and managers.
Details are being kept under wraps until a June 2 member meeting ahead of a ratification vote. Bargaining committees for both contracts have unanimously recommended the deal for ratification.
Negotiations began Tuesday on the contracts, whose current iterations are set to expire on June 30. The union sought to negotiate ahead of schedule because one of its bargaining priorities, informed by members, was to “avoid disruption in current commercial production work.”
Teamsters Local 399 president and chief negotiator Joshua Staheli led the talks on behalf of Local 399. Matt Miller, the AICP’s president and CEO, headed up negotiations on behalf of his group.
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“Negotiations are never easy, however I’m extremely proud of both of our member-led committees and their camaraderie and commitment to the bargaining priorities put forth by our members,” Staheli said in a statement. “Understanding the fragile state of commercial, and production work, over the last several years, our committee made clear that labor standards and fair compensation are not to be sacrificed in any negotiations under the guise of restoring work.”
The Hollywood Teamsters and the AICP are both supporting a California state bill to create a commercial tax credit program with $15 million in annual funding. The bill, if signed into law, would offer a 20 percent credit on eligible production costs within the L.A. studio zone and a 30 percent credit on such costs outside the zone.
In a statement about the deal, Miller said, “In an environment where production in LA is ailing, the bargaining parties showed professional restraint for the economic realities for the industry and employees.“ He added, “Both sides reconfirmed their resolve to secure a tax credit for commercials to aid the economic conditions of this important and fragile segment of the film industry in California.”
