On October 1, the crew members of most union film and television productions in the United States will decide whether to go on strike for fair pay, adequate rest, and regular breaks — things that should be a given, but are hard to come by in Hollywood.þþWhile streaming companies have posted record profits, rank-and-file union members have seen their quality of life erode with stagnant wages and assaults on their health and pension plans. Skilled workers years into their careers are making little more than $15 an hour. Crew members are sharing horror stories of car accidents after eighteen-hour days and health issues stemming from being denied bathroom breaks.þþIf workers vote “yes” on the upcoming strike authorization, the strike will be unprecedented for their union and significant for the entire labor movement. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) has never actually struck all of its West Coast locals at once. An estimated 60,000 IATSE members could walk off the job in the coming weeks, which would be the biggest private sector strike in the United States in over a decade.þþStriking workers would include almost everyone who works on a film set besides directors, writers, and actors. In show business, we use the term “below the line” to describe this group, which includes camera operators, grips, costumers, script supervisors, writers’ assistants, set decorators, and many more. The term comes from the actual positions of names on call sheets, where directors, writers, and top-billed acting talent are placed “above the line.” Without “below the line” workers, the films and shows you watch would never get made.þþIndividual locals of IATSE have struck before. 1941 saw the famous Disney animators’ strike, sparked by Walt Disney’s failure to share profits on Snow White. This era of militancy in Tinseltown culminated in the 1945 strike of the nascent set decorators’ local, which is remembered as the most violent strike in Hollywood history.þþSince then, lingering post-blacklist anti-communism in the industry and Reaganite neoliberalism in society at large have led to a less militant climate. Even so, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has struck six times since World War II, while actors have walked out four times — once, ironically, led by then Screen Actors Guild (SAG) president Ronald Reagan himself. The more boss-friendly Directors Guild of America (DGA) has only struck once, for a total of three hours and five minutes — roughly the length of a lunch meeting at the Ivy.þþIf the upcoming IATSE strike authorization vote and subsequent bargaining result in a strike, it would be one of the largest in Hollywood history. And with so many different crafts walking out, it would also be the most disruptive. Film and television in the United States would grind to a halt.
Source: Jacobin
