That’s another of the 13 IATSE locals down, but still many to go. The Art Directors Guild, IATSE Local 800, announced to its members Thursday night that it reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with terms specific to its members.
A statement from ADG president Nelson Coates and national executive director Chuck Parker said a deal was reached after three days in the negotiating room to hammer out the portion of IATSE’s 2024 basic agreement that covers Local 800 specifically. Coates and Parker also said that Local 729, which covers set painters and sign writers, reached a tentative deal, in addition to the previously reported agreement for the International Cinematographers Guild Local 600.
“Congratulations! We wish the other ten West Coast Studio locals good luck as they negotiate their issues,” ADG said in its statement. “Continuing to build on this success through the month of April is crucial as we will return to the table in May to negotiate for benefits and general terms and conditions of employment affecting us all that will complete the 2021-24 Basic Agreement.”
The agreement will still need to be formally ratified. That won’t be put to a vote to members until the other locals have completed their negotiations and after the general terms for IATSE’s contract have been agreed upon in May. The current contract expires July 31.
At least two locals are expected to be negotiating at any given time. IATSE said at the start of the week that next up is Local 700, the Motion Picture Editors Guild.
IATSE kicked off negotiations with the studios on March 4 to review health plan terms and pension benefits. For those talks, IATSE also teamed with the Teamsters and Hollywood Basic Crafts to speed the process and reach standards across all unions. After IATSE finishes, the Teamsters and Hollywood Basic Crafts are expected to begin their negotiations in June.
IATSE has said it has no interest in extending talks past the contract expiration deadline on July 31. That happened in 2021, which saw the guild extend talks for months and nearly led to union members rejecting the deal.
