Systemic Apathy vs Sustainability: Where do the protectors of the entertainment industry workers lie?
Picket line at Paramount Pictures 1945
Photo Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library Collection
Let’s start off with a massive spoiler alert: There is no magic behind movies. “Movie Magic” in reality looks like a crew of people working 14-18 hour days, living off of coffee, craft service sandwiches, and a prayer that the next take will be “the one.” Long hours and unsafe working conditions on movie sets have been an issue from the start, yet recently this topic is buzzing due to the death of cinematographer Helena Hutchins. Everyone is asking the same question, “How did we let it get this bad?” In light of the recent union negotiations, I’m going to dive into a three part-series looking at the history behind the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union, the conditions leading up to the 2021 negotiation table, and the historically close ratification vote. What has the IATSE been up to for nearly 100 years, and why are members still fighting for basic sustainable working conditions?
IATSE (also referred to as IA) is by far the largest and most encompassing union representing workers in the film industry. It’s formation was due to the changing environment of entertainment all the way back in 1893. Prior to IA, local theaters operated as co-ops. Everyone involved in production would split jobs and profit equally. However, once touring theater groups became the industry standard, it was clear that specialized workers needed to band together to set expectations and protections. From the beginning IA was formed to represent workers within an industry, rather than a hyper-specific trade, making it a union rather than a guild. In theory, this would give members of IA stronger influence and more power at the bargaining table. Not long after formation, in the early 1900’s when audiences began flocking to the movies rather than the traditional theaters, the union needed to pivot. Local IA chapters began organizing film workers, but with no precedent set, and internal miscommunication, the union wasn't initially in a strong position when Hollywood Producers formed MPPA (Motion Pictures Producers Association) in 1916.
Newspaper Article From The Sydney Morning Herald December 24th, 1943
Cut to 1930’s Hollywood and a man named George E. Browne. Browne was the business manager for a Local IA chapter in Los Angeles. He worked himself a sweet deal with local theater and club owners at the time, by promising no strikes and low wage contracts for his union members in exchange for cash. Browne and his partner successfully ran a small extortion ring long enough for the Chicago Mob to take notice. Once this happened it was game over. The mob came in and fixed the 1934 IATSE International Convention, effectively electing George E. Browne as president. During this same convention, a clause was added to the IA constitution stating that all strikes were prohibited unless authorized by the International President. With the largest growing labor union in Hollywood under their thumb, the mob essentially controlled the entertainment industry. Browne and subsequent IA presidents guaranteed low wages, no strikes, in exchange for funds. Rendering the union useless.
It’s important to note, that during this time there was only one other union representing backlot workers in Hollywood, The Confederation of Studio Unions (CSU). CSU was a democratically-operated union where members had full autonomy to call strikes whenever necessary.
In the late 1930’s 77 Set Decorators left IA and formed an independent organization named the Society of Motion Picture Interior Decorators, (SMPID), and In 1943, SMPID officially affiliated with CSU. Shortly after this afficilation, CSU found themselves at the negotiations table with producers. IA quickly interfered with these negotiations by stepping in and claiming jurisdiction over SMPID. Due to the jurisdiction battle, the producers stalled all negotiations with CSU, forcing them to strike.
Throughout the strike, IA directed their members to cross the picket line. There were a few brave IA Locals however, who stood in solidarity with CSU. But these IA locals were later stripped away from union membership. CSU lost in the end, and IA as an organization had ultimately picked the wrong side of the line to stand by siding with the producers.
Writers Guild of America Strike
Photo Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library Collection
In reality, IA’s history is murky and poorly documented between 1950 and 1970, but there is more than enough evidence of concessions before and after this period to assume a trend. Unionization numbers in the film industry began dropping dramatically between the late 70’s and 80’s. Coincidentally, during this time, IA began conceding substantially in negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The big one however happened at the 1989 negotiations table. For context, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) had just ended a 22-week strike. During this strike, IA refused to join WGA to increase bargaining power for both organizations. Setting a precedent, this encouraged the organization Basic Crafts, a coalition of five unions, to enter negotiations with AMPTP alone. Basic Craft’s thought process was that the producers wouldn’t want to continue to slow or stop productions because of the ongoing writers strike. They were wrong. The studios ended up locking out Basic Crafts and hired scabs (non union, usually less qualified, replacement workers) to finish out productions. This lock out effectively ensured monumental concessions from five separate unions, directly before IA was set to sit at the table.
In January of 1989, IA conceded to end double-time pay for weekends, end higher wages for overnight workers, and end the five day work week. The kicker is they did all of this without even the threat of a strike. Their “triumph” was negotiating a 3% annual pay raise for members. In hindsight, clearly the more valuable commodity for producers is time over money, and through these concessions, IA agreed that the workers' time and conditions held no value. A decision that at the time was contested by members, and as we see today has become the forefront of demands. The members in 1989 voted against this agreement by popular vote, however the vote was ratified by IA’s electoral college.
Since the 1989 negotiations, IA has simply “maintained” the status quo. Every three year contract negotiation has resulted in a 1-3% wage increase, health coverage movement, (notice I said movement rather than increase/benefit) and zero discussions over working conditions. Again, in 2005 IA agreed to lower camera department minimums, directly resulting in overworked conditions for camera crews. Over a decade later in 2018, public campaigning on social media, pushed the national conversation regarding negotiations that focused on unsafe, and unsustainable working conditions. For an accumulation of 100 years since the formation of MPPA and serious negotiations began taking place, IA has continuously failed to protect its members in this area. Resulting in the predatory practices of producers and status quo set environments that reflect unsafe and unsustainable operations. To answer the question posed at the start of this article, “how did we let it get this bad?” The answer lies in the very organization set in place to protect. It’s this bad because IA and the powers of the film industry made it this way. Once the producers made the decision that time was more valuable than money, the threat of lawsuits, and marginally higher wage negotiations were no longer an issue. The real change will come with attacking their time through strikes.
In the next installment we’ll dive deeper into what it looks like to be a worker under an IA malpractice-created industry and whether the threat of a strike is actually the answer.
Sources:
https://www.iatse728.org/about-us/history/the-war-for-warner-brothers
https://www.thestrikewave.com/original-content/history-of-iatse-contract-negotiations-amid-divied-membership