A nationwide strike that would have started Monday was averted over the weekend when the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) reached a tentative three-year agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) for The Basic and Videotape Agreements, which affects 40,000 film and television workers represented by 13 West Coast IATSE local unions. 

IATSE’s below-the-line workers include camera operators, grips, prop makers, set dressers, makeup artists, editors, script coordinators, publicists and many other job categories key to producing and film and television.

The AMPTP is a trade association that represents major employers and producers of television and film including Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Apple, Netflix and Amazon, among others.

The proposed contract addresses core issues including reasonable rest periods, meal breaks, living wage for those on the bottom of the pay scale and significant increases in compensation to be paid by new-media companies.

The tentative agreement, which still must be ratified by IATSE members, identifies what many film and television workers had lamented on how the workweek commonly ran into the weekend, as Fridays and Saturdays became one long workday or a “Fraturday.” Under the terms of the new agreement film and television workers would have a minimum rest period of 54 hours over the weekend

“This is a Hollywood ending,” said Matthew Loeb, IATSE International president. “Our members stood firm. We are tough and united.”

IATSE union members were prepared to withhold their labor and go on strike until issues related to the quality of their lives were addressed, he said. 

IATSE members were briefed early this week by their local leaders on full details and language of the tentative agreement. A ratification vote will be held with members casting ballots online using a similar process that was used to conduct the recent strike authorization vote. The vote is expected to be weeks away.

“Our members will see significant improvements, but our employers also will benefit,” said Mike Miller, vice president and motion picture director for IATSE. “This settlement allows pre-production, production and post-production to continue without interruption. Workers should have improved morale and be more alert. Health and safety standards have been upgraded.”

Two weeks ago, IATSE members who work in television and film production at 36 IATSE local unions across the country voted to authorize the union’s international president to call the first nationwide strike in the union’s 128-year history. Voter turnout was 90%, with 98.6% of those voting in support of authorizing a strike. Last Wednesday, Loeb announced that a strike would begin at 12:01 Monday morning, Oct. 18, if a deal had not been reached.

Mary O’KEEFE contributed to this article