The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the B.C. branch of the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA-BC) have struck an agreement with IATSE 891, IATSE 669, Teamsters 155, the Directors Guild of Canada’s B.C. branch (DGC BC) and the Union of British Columbia Performers (UBCP/ACTRA) to extend their respective agreements into 2025.
The deal, which was ratified on July 21, will see union and guild members receive a one-year contract extension plus a 5% wage increase, effective April 1, 2024. The agreements will be in effect until March 31, 2025.
“Both members and producers can benefit from the stability of our contract,” Crystal Braunwarth, business representative at IATSE local 891, told Playback Daily during the voting period.
For IATSE 891’s side, the vote was a 78.5% “yes” with a 52.5% voter turnout.
Wendy Newton, business agent at ICG 669, also confirmed the news.
“We believe the outcome will be very positive for the BC film industry’s recovery,” said Newton.
Meanwhile, the DGC BC board confirmed that they, along with the other BC Film Unions — IATSE 891, ICG 669, Teamsters 155 and UBCP/ACTRA — have all also agreed to the extension.
“Our goal, as always, is creating a stable production environment. We stand in solidarity with the WGA and SAG AFTRA and we look forward to their negotiations ending in a fair result for both unions. Once those negotiations conclude, we expect that the stable labour environment will encourage productions to land here in BC,” the board said in a statement.
DGC BC also said they plan to return to the bargaining table in late 2024 and “will continue to fight for improvements to the contract in the best interest of our Members.”
Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike for more than two months, following the end of negotiations with the AMPTP on May 1, which has resulted in a significant slowdown of production activity in Ontario and B.C. SAG-AFTRA has also joined the strike, putting an end to actor promotion of their current film and TV projects.
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