Looming U.S. film, TV workers strike not expected to slow down B.C. production

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly indicated that Pete Mitchell claimed most crews in B.C. do not work longer than 10 hours a day. This article has been updated to correctly reflect his statements, that it is common for employees to work longer hours.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — If 60,000 film and TV crew members walk off the job in the U.S. on Monday, the head of a production facility in B.C. expects the impact here to be minimal.

A strike would bring a halt to filming on a broad swath of film and television productions and extend well beyond Hollywood, affecting productions in Georgia, New Mexico and other North American shoots.

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees International President Matthew Loeb said Wednesday that the strike would begin at 12:01 a.m. Monday unless an agreement is reached on rest and meal periods and pay for its lowest-paid workers.

RELATED: Film, TV workers union says strike to start next week

But Pete Mitchell, President and CEO of Vancouver Film Studios, says he expects it to be business as usual in Hollywood North where collective agreements make it difficult for crew members to walk off the job.

“Even if there were to be some kind of dispute in B.C., which there isn’t, but if there were — maybe a couple of crew members on some shows. I don’t think there’s a big enough impact on any show that I know of that would actually be brought to a halt,” he explains.

“When production stops, you only have access to actors for a certain amount of time. If you go on strike for three weeks, you may never be able to get them back, so that is quite problematic, but there’s very little chance of that happening in B.C. in the near future.”

.@VanFilmStudio President/CEO Pete Mitchell says only a few #BC projects MIGHT be impacted.

“They haven’t had a strike in 100 years and I find it unlikely they will. They just have a strike mandate for their leaders which is an extra bit of leverage at the bargaining table.”

— Marcella Bernardo (@MBernardoNews) October 14, 2021

A key sticking point in this dispute is a demand for workers to have longer breaks between shifts.

“People want a little bit more reasonable working hours in the film and television industry, but I think they also appreciate the salaries they get, as a result of the long hours. So, you can’t have it both ways. Somewhere in between there is going to be the compromise … The short hours they’re asking for are a 10-hour day, which to most people, sounds like a lot, but the hours in the film industry have had a tendency to be quite a bit higher than that in the past,” Mitchell said.

He admitted some shows do work 10-hour days, but “it depends.”

“If it’s the last day with your actor and you’re basically never going to see them again because they’re busy doing other things, I think extended hours are reasonable. But what is a reasonable working day in the film and television industry is really what’s at stake.”

When asked if 14 hours is a typical regular day, Mitchell said, “I would say it’s more like 12 is the average working day in the film and television day,” adding employees do work longer hours in the first year of a series or the end of a series.

“I can understand how people who are working those kinds of hours long-term might want the reduction.”

It would be the first nationwide strike in the 128-year history of IATSE, whose members include cinematographers, camera operators, set designers, carpenters, hair and makeup artists, animators and many others.

Given that, Mitchell says he thinks a shutdown is unlikely.

“It is an unprecedented situation in the US, but at the same time, they haven’t had a strike in 100 years and I find it unlikely that they will. They just have a strike mandate for their leaders which is an extra bit of leverage at the bargaining table.”

John Lewis says there’s hope a deal can be reached to keep 60,000 members from walking off the job.

“Everyone knows what it’ll take to get a deal, so it’s now a matter of getting it done.”

A key demand is shorter shifts for unionized crews now working more than 14 hours/day.

— Marcella Bernardo (@MBernardoNews) October 14, 2021

Still, John Lewis, the director of Canadian Affairs for the IATSE, says picket lines could go up in British Columbia if a deal isn’t reached.

“They’re allowed to have informational pickets in Canada. It’s as a protected right, a Charter right, that we’re allowed freedom of expression and freedom to secondary picket. If we think it will help our cause, there would be picketing anywhere that people that work under these agreements work.”” he explains, adding he is also hopeful a strike will be averted.

“This is an industry that works on deadlines, so hopefully, that gives everyone a sense of clarity and a sense of urgency to get this thing done. Everyone knows what it will take to get a deal, so it’s now a matter of getting it done.”

The union reported on Oct. 4 that its members had voted overwhelmingly to allow its president to authorize a strike, but negotiations, and hopes to avert a walkout, resumed after the vote.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios and other entertainment companies in negotiations, said its members value their crew members and were committed to avoiding a shutdown in a still-recovering industry.

With files from The Associated Press