Carol Lombardini: Last News

IATSE and Hollywood’s major studios are closing in on a deal that would avert a strike that threatened to shutter most film and TV production in Hollywood.Industry sources said virtual negotiations between the sides went late into Friday night as Carol Lombardini, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers bargaining organization for the major studios, addressed numerous IATSE leaders about the details of deals on thorny issues of working conditions that were sorted through in the marathon sessions.Industry sources cited Walt Disney Television chief Peter Rice and veteran industry lawyer Ken Ziffren as key players who helped Lombardini bridge the gap during the past few days.

IATSE and the AMPTP are “still talking” and are expected to return to the virtual bargaining table again Friday. Armed with strike authorization from his members, IATSE president Matthew Loeb can call a nationwide walkout of film and TV workers at any time if he and AMPTP president Carol Lombardini can’t reach a fair deal.

IATSE and the AMPTP have resumed bargaining today after working all day Tuesday to avert a threatened nationwide strike against film and TV productions.

In an overwhelming show of union solidarity, IATSE members have voted to authorize a nationwide strike against film and TV productions if last-ditch negotiations with the AMPTP fail to produce a fair deal.

Political pressure is mounting on the AMPTP to negotiate a fair deal with IATSE. In the past two days, more than 200 state and federal Democratic lawmakers have signed letters to AMPTP president Carol Lombardini, urging her to bargain fairly and avert a labor stoppage during the pandemic. The union’s members began voting for strike authorization on Friday, and results will be announced Monday.

More than 100 Democrats in the House and Senate and independent Bernie Sanders have signed a letter urging the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to negotiate a fair contract with IATSE, saying, “We are united in our belief in the importance of livable wages, sustainable benefits, and reasonable rest periods between shifts and during the workday” – three of the union’s core demands.

By David Robb

By Dave McNary

By David Robb

Performers’ union SAG-AFTRA and major motion picture and television studios will commence bargaining on Monday ahead of a June 30 contract extension, the union and studio alliance said Friday in unexpected news.

By Dave McNary

By David Robb

By David Robb

By Dave McNary

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has agreed to a proposal from the Writers Guild of America that talks between the parties, delayed from March 23 by the pandemic, will start next month, according to a letter obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. In the Friday letter, AMPTP president Carol Lombardini tells WGA West executive director David Young that the studio alliance agrees with his suggestion in a Friday email that the parties exchange initial proposals May 1 and begin talks May 11.

By Dave McNary

Talks between the Writers Guild of America and major motion picture and television studios, originally scheduled to begin March 23, may start next month: the WGA West proposed in an email disclosed Friday that the parties exchange initial proposals May 1 and begin talks the week of May 11. The email, from WGAW executive director David Young to Carol Lombardini, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, also proposes extending the existing contract to June 30.

By David Robb

By Dave McNary

By David Robb

The Directors Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers have reached an agreement on a new three-year agreement ahead of a June 30 contract expiration, the DGA announced Thursday. Details will be released after submission of the deal to the guild's national board on Saturday.