Directors Guild Of Canada B.C. Seeks First-Ever Strike OK Vote From Members After AMPTP Bargaining Reaches “Impasse”

deadline.com:

The Directors Guild of Canada, B.C. District Council, is threatening to launch its first-ever strike against the film and TV industry after yearlong negotiations with employers have broken off as the sides have failed to reach an agreement on a new contract.

A strike would effectively shut down production across British Columbia.The guild, whose current contract expired on March 31, 2021, is asking for a “strike mandate” from its 1,700 members that would authorize a strike if the companies won’t budge from their current bargaining position.

That vote will begin on Wednesday and conclude Thursday.The guild, saying that it’s reached an “impasse” with the companies, maintains that its done “everything in its power – using every tool available – to get a fair deal.

The only option now is to seek a strike mandate.”“For the first time in our history, the DGC BC is calling on its members to vote in favor of a strike,” says Allan Harmon, District Council Chairman of the DGC BC. “We have bargained in good faith for a full year, but the employers’ bargaining team has been unwilling to engage on our most important issues and has kept demanding more and more clawbacks throughout the process.