We won’t call it an “emergency” pod because the news is kinda good. We’d call it Breaking news … but it’s not really that either.
WHAT IT IS: a conversation with Rebecca Cook, proud Spokanite and Vice President of IATSE Local 488, which serves film and TV crews in Washington, Oregon, Montana and North Idaho.
We discuss:
- The breadth of entertainment workers in our area
- How a 12-hour “shoot day” is really a 16-hour work day.
- How grueling hours lead to unsafe working conditions and potentially deadly commutes.
- How “new media” like Netflix, Amazon & Disney+ continue to pay people poorly, even as they cross a quarter-trillion dollars of market value, thanks to outdated contracts they are trying desperately to maintain at the expense of workers’ health and safety.
- The overwhelming majority of workers who are now saying “enough is enough.”
BUT ALSO:
- Some seriously encouraging news about how taking this stand seems to be working.
Further Reading
- Working conditions on film shoots: IAStories on Instagram & Twitter
- Solid background on how we got here.
- Track this fast-moving story at the industry trades Deadline & Variety
