SAG-AFTRA & Teamsters Local 399 Leaders Show Solidarity With WGA At Opening Day Of Contract Talks

Leaders of SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399 showed their support for the WGA on Monday, posing with WGA leaders shortly before the 11 a.m. start of the Writers Guild’s contract negotiations with producers at the AMPTP’s headquarters in Sherman Oaks.

“This is what solidarity looks like!” the WGA West posted on its Twitter page above a photo of the labor leaders. From left to right are David A. Goodman, former WGA West president and co-chair of the WGA’s Negotiating Committee; Lindsay Dougherty, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 399; Ellen Stutzman, WGA chief negotiator and assistant executive director of the WGA West; Meredith Stiehm, president of the WGA West; Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director, and Chris Keyser, former WGA West president and co-chair of the WGA Negotiation Committee.

RELATED: As WGA & AMPTP Talks Kick Off, Details Emerge Of DGA’s Attempt To Reach Under-The-Radar Deal With Studios

Dougherty, in a message to Local 399 members, said that Stutzman invited her and Crabtree-Ireland to attend the opening session “as a show of solidarity with the writers.”

The WGA, she wrote, “is seeking a package of wage increases, increased residuals and other reforms to working conditions that address the changing dynamic of the industry. Their demands are reasonable and fair.”

Dougherty, who is also the International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ Western Region vice president, and director of the IBT Motion Picture & Theatrical Trade Division, went on to say that “We have seen rumors perpetuated by the studios, and the media, blaming a slow start to the year, and the threat of a work stoppage, solely on the backs of the writers. The truth of the matter is that this sort of narrative is used as a scare tactic by the employers in an already cyclical industry.

“The start to the year is slow, yet steady, and can be considered reasonably normal over the course of the past decade. To preemptively blame a ‘writer’s strike’ while bargaining has just begun distracts from the real issues being put forth across the table. It shifts the blame away from the employers, who have failed to give workers what is owed time and time again. As union members in the motion picture industry, we must be mindful of slow periods and not be tricked by the employers’ narrative. Workers in this industry deserve their fair and reasonable share.”

Noting that she is in “close communication with all the Hollywood unions and guilds,” Dougherty went on to write: “Though these negotiations may be contentious, our goal will remain to stand in solidarity with all workers, while we educate and engage our members every step of the way. We are not only watching this cycle of bargaining for updates to share with the membership, we are also observing to anticipate what to expect from the studios in the coming year.”

Local 399’s own contract with the AMPTP doesn’t expire until next year. The DGA will begin its negotiations with AMPTP on May 10. Like SAG-AFTRA, the DGA contract expires June 30. No date has been set yet for the start of SAG-AFTRA’s negotiation.

Day 2 of the WGA’s contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers got underway today.

On Monday, before the talks started, the WGA’s Negotiating Committee said that “the studios are spending billions of dollars to produce the content we create and are reaping tens of billions in profits. Those profits come at the expense of writers, who are not keeping up. That must change now. Our goal is a contract that allows writers to maintain sustainable careers and be fairly compensated for the work we do. Our proposals are reasonable and we hope the studios will take them seriously. You will not hear much from us during these early weeks of negotiations, but we will be in touch as soon as we have significant updates.”

RELATED: As WGA Contract Talks Begin, Union Tells Members What To Expect In Coming Weeks

On Sunday, the AMPTP said: “The AMPTP companies approach this negotiation and the ones to follow with the long-term health and stability of the industry as our priority. We are all partners in charting the future of our business together and fully committed to reaching a mutually beneficial deal with each of our bargaining partners. The goal is to keep production active so that all of us can continue working and continue to deliver to consumers the best entertainment product available in the world.”

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