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In weighing his vote on a proposed union deal with Hollywood producers, veteran stage worker Matthew “Doc” Brashear scrutinized the deal, as well as the now-closed New Mexico film set on which a cameraman died.
For crew member Brandy Tannahill, the fatal “Rust” shots of Halyna Hutchins and the resurgence of labor actions like the John Deere and Kellogg strikes base her decision.
When the vote begins Friday on a three-year tentative agreement struck by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and a trade group representing producers, Brashear and Tannahill say they will vote no.
With the forces of the pandemic on the economy determining the views of union members, the bread-and-butter issues of wages and pensions remain important. But long-entrenched concerns about workplace hazards have grown in urgency.
“I think the elected (union) leaders gave it their all,” Brashear said of the proposed deal that prevented the union’s first national strike. While it is generally “a win of a contract,” it falls short on most security-related issues, he said.
“Most of what we struggle for is just being able to spend time with our family and, when we work 16 hour days, be safe for our families,” said Brashear, a light programmer in southern California.
While some point to the shooting of “Rust,” which injured director Joel Souza and killed cinematographer Hutchins as a runaway – Alec Baldwin, the film’s star producer who fired the gun, called it a “one-in-one” Billion Event “- Tannahill said it was emblematic of the industry’s critical shortcomings.
“There was an understandable emotional reaction to what happened,” she said. “But the underlying problem that screams at me, as someone in this business, is that production has got to the point where producers have made the cutbacks.”
Dutch Merrick is a television and film gunsmith and prop master, which means he has firsthand knowledge of how to protect film actors and crews from guns on set. He came to LX News host Ashley Holt to discuss the accidental fatal shooting of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins on the set of Alec Baldwin’s film “Rust” and every step that should have been taken to prevent it.
Stresses that union members point out include long work days that may be absent from breaks or lunches and the debilitating fatigue that is caused both in and out of work. A 1997 tragedy remains alive: Brent Hershman, 35, an assistant camera operator in the movie Pleasantville, died in an accident on the way home after a 19-hour workday.
“Those are the things that make the headlines,” says Tannahill, but she knows four people who dozed off at the wheel and either narrowly escaped or survived an accident. She has been working as a handle since 2011, including setting up the lighting.
According to the union, the proposed agreements for workers in film and television production address key safety and economic issues.
“This is a Hollywood ending,” said Matthew Loeb, President of IATSE International, when announcing a deal last month. “We have met from head to toe with some of the most powerful entertainment and technology companies in the world” to create a contract that “meets the needs of our members.”
The collective bargaining committees of all 36 local unions unanimously recommended ratification. The electronic voting ends on Sunday and the result is expected on Monday. The union and the alliance of film and television producers did not provide officers for interviews.
IATSE represents approximately 150,000 behind the scenes workers including stage workers, cameramen, clients and others involved in all forms of entertainment from film and television to theater, concerts, trade shows and radio.
Two contract proposals are at stake for 60,000 union members. One mainly covers film and television production on the West Coast and affects about two-thirds of those members; the other is for manufacturing centers like New Mexico and Georgia.
“We have huge favoritism numbers [for unions]… that is also an indication of the pulse of society that everyone is tired of watching workers be abused during the pandemic. “Jane McAlevey of the UC Berkeley Labor Center talks about the recent labor strikes at Kellogg’s, John Deere and the IATSE film and television union where workers fight for a weekend. The former organizer and expert on the history of workers’ movements says these strikes “compensate for lost time”.
The agreements include general wage increases and higher remuneration paid by streaming services, Loeb said in a statement, a note on Amazon, Netflix and others originally referred to as “new media,” reducing the financial gap.
Loeb also said that “quality of life issues were high on our priority list,” with the proposed contracts establishing a defined weekend rest period and “harsh” penalties for failing to provide meals and breaks.
It is not enough, some workers claim.
“This is a version of the same deal that is offered to us every three years,” said veteran stage worker Jason Fitzgerald. “If we don’t take a stand now to change the culture of the industry, we will continue to be treated more like the disposable parts of a machine and less like people.”
The approval of 98% of the strike votes is attributed by the union with the urgency of setting up the studios for an agreement. The union threatened a strike on October 18 if the sides failed to reach an agreement, which was reached on October 16.
This activist spirit, fueled by the strike approval campaign, remains unbroken for some, even if the union calls for a “yes”.
“People are more critical of contract language, especially younger workers who are really into social media and use the Internet to find information,” said Tannahill. Last weekend, a town hall she organized for union members to discuss the contract attracted more than 500 in person or online, she estimated.
Producer Tom Nunan, who credits Oscar-winning “Crash,” said there was more debate this year than in the past. However, he awaits ratification, citing precedents and workers’ zeal for safety regulations.
“This is approved by the members. They have never resisted executive recommendations (approvals), and I don’t see that being the exception, ”said Nunan, professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Theater, Film and Television. “The progress the team has made on behalf of IATSE is spectacular in every way.”
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This story corrects that the year of the fatal crash was 1997, not 1987.
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