With members of the Directors Guild of Canada now voting to approve the strike in British Columbia, the AMPTP and the Canadian Media Producers Association are warning that labor unrest in the region could force producers to think twice about filming there.
The two employers, who have been negotiating with the union for more than a year, said in a joint statement on Wednesday that “the vote approving DGC BC’s strike sends a message of labor uncertainty to the province and seriously threatens British Columbia’s reputation.” Interesting location for creating motion pictures. Given the potential for labor instability in British Columbia, companies represented by AMPTP and CMPA may be forced to re-evaluate their plans for a new production base in the province. “
The Guild, whose current contract expires on March 31, 2021, is seeking a “strike mandate” from its 1,700 members that would allow companies to strike if they do not withdraw from their current bargaining position. The vote ends on Thursday and is expected to be widely approved, although a strike, if it comes, could still be a few weeks away.
The Guild, which says it has reached a “stalemate” with companies at the bargaining table, maintains that it has “done everything in its power – using every available tool -” to get a fair deal. The only option now is to order a strike. “
The DGC BC said it was “fighting for respect, fairness and protection for those working under its collective agreement, especially those in the lowest paid and most vulnerable positions, including the various and under-represented groups in the industry.”
Directors Guild of Canada seeks first strike OK vote from members after BC AMPTP bidding reaches “stalemate”
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major U.S. companies, and a trade association for independent producers, CMPA, says they have “carefully considered the guild’s core priorities and made a broad proposal to address those demands,” the board said. Increase, increase outsize for minimum wage classification, increase additional wages for location managers, create a new and higher-paid key background coordinator classification, and increase benefits for managers working in specific high-budget SVOD productions, including remnants. There is no ‘rollback’ or reduction of benefits. “
Last May, the companies told the Guild that they would not be available for bargaining for three months, the Guild applied for mediation to the Canadian Labor Relations Board, which hired a mediator who met and accepted submissions from both parties and issued a recommendation. August 8.
“The mediator’s recommendation requires compromise on both sides,” the guild said. “The DGC BC has agreed to a mediation recommendation to terminate an agreement. The negotiating producers rejected the mediator’s recommendation and continued to seek further concessions. Keep DGC BC strong. Negotiating producers ’recent offers have both mediator recommendations and clubbacks to their previous offers. DGC BC reversed that offer; The negotiating producers have rejected the counter without discussion. The parties are at a standstill. ”
The AMPTP and CMPA, however, maintained that following the mediation, the Guild “indicated that it would accept the recommendations of the chair of the Labor Relations Board. In the follow-up discussion, a point of difference remained between the parties. The DGC requested a ‘trade’ of BC issues. The trade agreed to trade in an attempt to close the negotiations. After coming so close to reaching an agreement, the DGC BC then made additional demands and the opportunity for a settlement was lost. . “
