Teamsters Warn Members Against Studios’ “Fear Mongering Tactics” As Basic Crafts Contract Talks Pause For July 4th Holiday

deadline.com:

The Teamsters say they are willing to extend bargaining with the studios deeper into the month, but the AMPTP needs to step it up if they really want a deal. “Next week, we hope to see the AMPTP ready to sit back down at the table and be prepared to bargain and ‘care’ about the issues our members face,” the nearly 7,000 member representing union and other Basic Crafts said in a note sent out this afternoon.  “As shared before, we have no interest in negotiating against ourselves.

We are prepared to seek additional dates to have our members’ core priorities heard, understood, and acted on by the employer’s if they are not prepared to do so by July 19th.” See the full Teamsters/Basic Crafts message below In the pre-Independence Day missive, the Basic Crafts updated the state of the latest negotiations with the Carol Lombardini-led organization and their concerns about how things could go off the rails. “We expect over the next several weeks to see the companies attempt to use fear mongering tactics against the reasonable terms and conditions our members are fighting for in these negotiations,’ a Teamsters Local 399 spokesperson said of the negotiating committee led by Hollywood Teamsters chief Lindsay Dougherty.

Weeks into their on-and-off talks, the two sides did not meet Wednesday, Deadline learned. The parties are taking the rest of the week away from the bargaining table because of the July 4th holiday.

With the Basic Crafts contract set to expire on July 31, the Basic Crafts – Teamsters Local 399, LiUNA! Local 724, IBEW Local 40, OPCMIA Local 755, and UA Local 78— and the AMPTP have inked in a return to talks on July 8.