Hollywood Basic Crafts and Studios Reach Tentative New Deal to Avert Strike

All member locals of Hollywood Basic Crafts have agreed to a tentative new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, averting a strike just three days before the July 31 deadline.

“After a long last 48-hours, we are proud to report that ALL Hollywood Basic Crafts Locals have reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP late this evening,” Teamsters Local 399, speaking on behalf of member locals, said Saturday in a statement.

“The basic crafts spent today working closely with our member-led negotiating committees to finalize a deal with the AMPTP that we can now say is being unanimously recommended by our member-led bargaining committees.”

The announcement comes less than a day after Basic Crafts presented a counter to what AMPTP called its “last, best and final offer.” Details about the deal will be made available Sunday afternoon following a general membership meeting of Teamsters Local 399, the union said.

Insiders told TheWrap last week that a major sticking point was wages, specifically long-standing pay disparities that made it difficult for Teamsters’ members to keep up with the cost of living in Los Angeles.

The Basic Crafts Deal means the film and television industry has dodged another crippling strike, as just 10 days ago IATSE members overwhelmingly approved that guild’s tentative deal.

But in an unexpected coincidence, SAG-AFTRA went on strike Thursday against major video game companies, after 18 months of negotiations failed to resolve differences.

Collectively, the Teamsters and Basic Crafts represent 7,600 entertainment workers. That includes drivers, dispatchers, electricians, caterers, laborers, cement masons, plumbers, animal trainers and casting directors, among others.

The other unions in the Basic Crafts are the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 40, Laborers International Union of North America Local (LIUNA) 724, United Association Plumbers Local (UA) 78 and Operating Plasterers & Cement Masons International Association (OPCMIA) Local 755.