IATSE Publishes Full Studio Contracts Ahead of Ratification Vote

Below-the-line union members will be able to vote on the contract from July 14-17

IATSE

IATSE has published the full Memorandum of Agreement for the Hollywood Basic and Area Standards Agreements, allowing members to review the full text of the contract ahead of a vote ratification period that will take place July 14-17.

The full text of the agreement can be read on IATSE’s websites for the Hollywood Basic and ASA negotiations. Sources tell TheWrap that snap meetings are being held this evening for specific provisions in the contract, including artificial intelligence protections, ahead of a general town hall that will be conducted by the union on Saturday.

“I encourage every eligible member to review these comprehensive documents and vote. It’s my hope that members cast their ballots in numbers that reflect the spirit of engagement and participation as part of their union,” IATSE President Matthew D. Loeb said in a statement.

IATSE’s ratification vote process takes place under a delegate system, with each local receiving a certain number of delegates based on their membership count. The Hollywood Basic Agreement covers the 13 West Coast locals in IATSE, while the Area Standards Agreement covers 23 local unions across the United States in
cities other than Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Chicago.

In the last ratification vote in 2021, both contracts were approved by the narrowest of margins. In the overall vote, 50.4% of members voted to reject the proposed Hollywood Basic Agreement, but eight of the 13 locals voted in favor of ratification.

In the three years since, IATSE members have become significantly more engaged in their union’s work thanks to increased interactions between members of different locals on social media and the increased awareness of unions seen during last year’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes as well as labor actions by unions across the country, and a high voter turnout is expected.

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