IATSE and AMPTP Begin Bargaining on AI Future

These decisions will impact the roughly 50,000 members of the 13 IATSE Locals that work under the Basic Agreement, as well as additional locals such as Teamsters Local 399 that are covered by the Area Standards Agreement.

IATSE hasn't publicly shared the specifics of its AI strategy, but it's a trickly area, as its range of members include cinematographers, picture editors, sound editors and mixers, art directors, costumers, hair stylists and make-up artists, grips, studio teachers, set painters, projectionists and craft services. 

AI looks poised to be a disruptive factor in production and post but will no doubt impact these disparate groups in different ways — and some sooner than others. (The 13 affected West Coast Studio Locals have all individually reached tentative agreements with the AMPTP for their craft-specific areas of the contract, but the issue of AI has been placed in the general negotiations.)

For signals of what could happen, it's worth keeping an eye on the potential impact of AI on the two largest of the 13 locals — the International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600) and the Motion Picture Editors Guild (Local 700) — with 10,236 and 9,375 members, respectively.

When it comes to voting for ratification of the full contract, the system uses delegate votes and functions like an electoral college, therefore these locals will wield the most voting power.

For Editors Guild members, popular editing systems such as the Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro already incorporate AI-driven tools, with more on the way. And their functions already touch on areas where, for example, assistant editors have responsibilities.

From AI to benefits, these decisions are being made following the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that saw a significant work stoppage, and the industry remains uncomfortably slow. This could factor into the general negotiations in areas such as contributions to the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans.

As for wage increases, a report from CVL Economics notes that the past three Basic Agreements have included annual 3% minimum bumps. But looking at the nationwide Consumer Price Index, it warns that this may not be enough.

The Basic Agreement and Area Standards Agreement expire on July 31. IATSE has indicated it doesn't wish to extend the existing contracts, as it did in 2021. During those contract negotiations, when IATSE had a strike authorization from its members, the contracts were ratified by a narrow margin. In fact, 52% of Local 600 voted no, and 50.4% of the popular vote in all 13 locals rejected ratifying the Basic Agreement.