![]() ![]() The AMPTP has said it is willing to improve minimum rates by 18% on the smaller streamers. “‘New media’ has us as low as $15 an hour for the same job I would be paid $45 an hour for. ![]() “We work literally the same job across multiple contracts for different rates,” Schwartz said. Schwartz said he is particularly angered about long hours without adequate breaks, but added that the discounted wage rates are also galling. Bargaining has ground to a halt, after the AMPTP did not respond to the union’s latest offer. The strike authorization vote will begin on Friday, with the results to be announced on Oct. On social media, some have questioned the tactic, saying it would be better to wait until a strike actually begins, or until the union officially calls for the measure. “I think if this becomes a real push that the IA wants to take on, it could easily spread much larger than the membership itself.” “I think we should show that we are serious about this is by hitting them in those residuals that they refuse to give to us,” said Max Schwartz, a studio electrical lighting technician with IATSE Local 728, who has led calls for streaming cancelations on Facebook. Streamers also pay lower residual rates to the union pension and health plans. Now that the business has matured, the unions have come to view the provision as a loophole. The discount was added to the IATSE contract a dozen years ago, when streaming was in its infancy. The major streamers - Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max, Disney Plus - do not get a wage discount under that provision, but smaller services - including Apple TV Plus and Paramount Plus - pay the lower scale, according to union officials. Under the current contract, streamers with fewer than 20 million subscribers pay lower wage rates than those that apply to movies and most linear TV productions. The role of streaming services - or “new media” - has been one of the sticking points in negotiations between the 13 West Coast IATSE unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. They do respond to public movements… I’m hoping it has ripple effects.” “But companies do respond to public pressure. “Will this make them fall short of their quarter? No,” Freedman said. “I hope my friends who aren’t in the business do the same kind of thing, so it sends the economic message.”Īny economic effect on the streaming companies is likely to be relatively minimal, given their scale. “I’m assuming somewhere along the way, some algorithm will pop up saying, ‘Hey, we’re losing business because of this,'” said Allen, a member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829. Kevin Lee Allen, a production designer from New Jersey, said he canceled his Netflix subscription last week, and included a note saying that he was doing so because he supports the union fight. ![]()
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