Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399 Says Industry Talks “Getting Closer” To Finalizing Remaining Issues For Safe Return To Work

The major companies and Hollywood’s unions are close to finalizing terms for restarting film and TV production. “Return-to-work discussions are ongoing with the studios and the other unions and guilds,” Teamsters Local 399 said in the latest message to its members. “At this time we are still trying to finalize some of the remaining issues, however we are getting closer and hope to conclude soon.”

The local didn’t say what the outstanding issues are, but last week, IATSE Grips Local 80 business manager Thom Davis told his members that the talks “have centered on items such as the amount of pay we are to receive when we are sent out for testing; how often is a person to be tested and exactly who is to be tested; how many sick days a person will receive if they become sick or are required to stay home due to some COVID-related event, and a whole host of other matters.”

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These discussions are in addition to protocols contained in a “white paper” issued June 1 by the Industry-Wide Labor Management Safety Committee Task Force, and the “Safe Way Forward” guidelines issued jointly by the DGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, Teamsters Local 399 and the Basic Crafts on June 12.

In the meantime, the Teamsters local said it is “seeing more commercials and productions slowly come back to life,” noting that its business agent and organizer Lindsay Dougherty “has also been signing more contracts as of recently. We hope to see our industry continue to open over the course of the next couple weeks and our members return to work. We know this is a tough time for many of our members.”

Local 399 also urged members to notify the union if they have been called back to work, saying that its business agents “are currently assessing production protocols on a case-by-case basis and must be aware of what is going on in order to ensure the employers are following safety guidelines. If you feel unsafe on any production or feel protocols are not being followed, please contact a business agent immediately.”

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