A Potential Standstill Affects All in the Entertainment Industry
It’s the word that has been whispered on film and television sets in Hollywood for the past few weeks, the word that people don’t even want to acknowledge — “strike”. Word on the street — or the set, in this case — is that a vote to authorize a strike could happen this weekend. But why? Most of it has to do with the long hours that below-the-line workers have been putting in for over a century now. Indeed, working in film and television is certainly no 9 to 5 job. Crew members are often the first to arrive and the last to leave. Some will work for 16 hours before being expected to return on the very next day. Lately, the break periods have also been a point of contention. Some producers want to do “French hours”, which means that there is no set break time. Workers simply take a few minutes to eat or rest when they can. The problem, a lot of hair and makeup professionals assert, is that they often won’t receive any break time at all if a particular set runs on French hours.
IATSE Members Make a Statement
The union that is calling for action on all of this is IATSE. And IATSE members have recently decided to put their money where their mouth is, canceling their own personal streaming subscriptions. Indeed, a lot of the criticism over the past few years has revolved around streaming services, which are often very cagey about revealing their data. These below-the-line workers have asserted that the services, including Netflix, Hulu and Prime, have been making more than enough money to support safe and comfortable working conditions for crew members. As always, movie and TV sets are not always a safe place to work. There is equipment everywhere, and sometimes a light might fall on someone or a crew member may fall off of a catwalk. Of course, these accidents tend to occur a lot more when crew members have not had enough rest the night before.
Time Shall Tell
This weekend, IATSE members will undertake their vote to determine what will happen in the coming weeks. If IATSE does decide to strike, then production will be suspended across the country. For those who live off of the money they make in the industry, it is an incredibly stressful time.