The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) proudly announced the chartering of a pioneering national Local: The Production Workers Guild Local 111.
This landmark achievement signifies the formation of the first-ever IATSE Local Union dedicated to representing freelance production department workers.
At its inception, PWG Local 111 will encompass a unit of 5,000 television commercial production workers employed by Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) companies. This includes a diverse range of professionals, such as Production Assistants (PA’s), Assistant Production Supervisors, Production Supervisors, Line Producers, and Bidding Producers.
However, the establishment of PWG Local 111 signifies a transformative step, paving the way for future organizing initiatives within production departments, not limited to TV commercials but extending throughout the broader entertainment industry. Aspiring members and interested workers can initiate the process by contacting IATSE organizers at IATSE.net/join.
Matthew D. Loeb, IATSE International President, expressed, “We are 170,000 strong and growing, welcoming crafts that historically have not been represented in this critical moment. The birth of The Production Workers Guild Local 111 is not a mere addition to our expansive list of represented crafts, but a testament to our union’s unwavering commitment to ensuring every worker in entertainment is represented, protected, and heard. And mark my words, this is just the beginning.”
Traditionally, positions like Production Designers/Art Directors, Camera Operators, Hair and Makeup Artists, Script Supervisors, Grips, Lighting, Props, and Paint have been represented on TV commercial sets by IATSE. However, workers in the production department have historically lacked such representation.
REELated:
With the freelance TV commercial production workers’ union now established and recognized by the AICP, the next phase involves the AICP entering negotiations with these workers as a cohesive group. Freelance TV commercial production department workers are harnessing their collective strength, and discussions aimed at enhancing the safety and sustainability of the Commercial Production Industry through collective bargaining are already in progress.
The newly-organized freelance TV commercial production department workers will embark on negotiations with the full support of IATSE and its traditionally represented crafts.
Loeb previously affirmed, “Commercial Production Workers’ issues are the very same ones this union has fought to address through collective bargaining for decades… your fight is our fight.” This monumental development promises to reshape labor dynamics within the entertainment industry and elevate the rights and representation of production department workers.
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