Teamsters are breathing a sigh of relief this week, after the union concluded six weeks of contentious studio negotiations with a tentative agreement on Saturday night.
The deal provides the same wage increases — 7%, 4%, and 3.5% — negotiated by IATSE and SAG-AFTRA. Aside from that, the main thing it provides is assurance that the industry won’t shut down again, so soon after the writers and actors strikes last year.
“I’m glad we have a contract. We don’t need to strike,” said Johnny Agnew, a Teamsters Local 399 member. “A lot of people haven’t worked in a year. I’m hoping production ramps up and we can get all of our people working.”
Despite the tough economic times, the union leadership went to the bargaining table with an aggressive set of demands. Lindsay Dougherty, the secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 399 cover Hollywood drivers, sought a double-digit increase in wage minimums. She also wanted a staffing mandate of one driver per truck, a ban on autonomous vehicles and a strict limit on subcontracting.
As negotiations wore on in June and July, Dougherty warned publicly that the two sides were “far apart,” and that the studios were not taking the union’s demands seriously. Things got heated in the room as well, as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers refused to budge on several of the key items.
On many productions, drivers are responsible for driving and parking more than one truck. The studios were unwilling to agree to a one-driver-per-truck mandate, which would increase costs significantly.
The union dropped the staffing and AI proposals toward the end of talks. The AMPTP offered its assurance that the studios have no plans to use driverless trucks.
The subject of AI may return in the next round in three years, when the technology is farther along.
Teamsters Local 399 negotiates its AMPTP contracts alongside four other “Basic Crafts” bargaining units: electricians, plumbers, plasterers and laborers. The unions were not able to get rid of subcontracting, but did get advance notice of subcontracting, instead of notice after the fact.
The contract was set to expire July 31, and as the clock wound down, it became clear that without going on strike, the Teamsters were not going to break the wage pattern set by SAG-AFTRA and IATSE. Instead, they were able to get above-pattern increases for certain classifications, including chef assistants, transportation coordinators, labor foremen and special equipment operators.
“We could have gotten a better deal, but at this point a strike is only going to take more money out of our pockets,” said Brian Bird, another driver. “Are we looking to work, or looking to have more months out of work?”
Some were disappointed that the contract does not do away with the “Class B” rate — a lower rate for driving smaller trucks, though all drivers must have a Class A license. John Stone, another driver, said that getting rid of that lower rate — about $3 an hour less than the Class A rate — was his top priority.
“That’s how you divide Teamsters more — giving special rates for different classes,” he said. “I can’t agree with that.”
He said that while he supports other elements of the contract, he was leaning toward voting “no” on ratification.
The deal also provides triple time after 15 hours — the same provision won by IATSE.
Dan Goetz, another driver, said he would vote for the contract, saying the terms are the best he’s ever seen. Still, he said, the 7% first-year increase is not enough to keep up with inflation over the last three years.
The ratification vote will close at 3 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday.
Goetz said he’s not convinced that the contract will lead to a surge in production.
“It will never be like it was from 2017-22 again,” he said. “It was crazy. They were grabbing people from Home Depot to work on sets.”
As production has struggled to rebound from the 2023 strike, many below-the-line workers have grown increasingly concerned that productions are fleeing to the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere.
Brady Heiser, another Teamster driver, said he hopes that actors and writers with clout in the industry will do what they can to make sure that productions are shot in the U.S.
“If they don’t step in and help us work in this country, a lot of what we struggle for is for naught,” he said.
