Studios and Hollywood crew union reach historic deal on pay raises and AI use; DEETS

A union representing behind-the-scenes workers in both the television and film industries recently signed another major contract with major Hollywood studios.

The new agreement came shortly before the expiration of the previous one and spared the film industry many of the similar disputes seen during the previous strikes.

Hollywood crew union signs major deal with studios

A union representing Hollywood crews has reportedly signed a tentative three-year deal with major studios that includes pay increases and limits on the use of artificial intelligence.

The union in question is the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which is made up of 50,000 crew members from 13 different union chapters on the West Coast. These members come from a variety of backgrounds, including art directors, set designers, editors, camera technicians, hairdressers, makeup artists and costume designers.

While there is already great news for the above members, a separate agreement focusing on 20,000 Hollywood employees is still being negotiated.

According to an email from IATSE to its members, the deal includes salary increases and protections for artificial intelligence. This deal is called the Basic Agreement and was concluded on Tuesday evening with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Production companies represented in the AMPTP include some of the industry’s largest studios, including Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros., as well as Discovery and Amazon Prime.

The above agreement is a cause for relief as it came almost a month before the expiration of the previous contract.

The email to IATSE members revealed that the current agreement “includes new protections around artificial intelligence, including language that ensures that no employee is required to make AI requests in a manner that would result in the termination of an affected employee.”

However, further details of the basic agreement will be published later this week.

Deal completed in 2023

In late 2023, the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA and the studios reached a settlement that ended a nearly six-month strike. The dispute was major and had halted production on many films and television series, causing delays in their release.

The same AMPTP alliance that has now reached an agreement had struggled to reach an agreement with the writers and actors in 2023 during last year’s strikes.

However, the new agreement now provides for wage increases of 7%, 4% and 3.5% over the three-year term, the union said.

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