Labor

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) union announced that over 80 percent of the 18 in-house Visual Effects (VFX) crewmembers at Walt Disney Pictures expressed a desire to unionize. Their organizing follows a push at Marvel that started earlier this month and is in the midst of ongoing strikes by the actors’ and writers’ guilds.

After the AMPTP publicly released its counteroffer to striking writers yesterday, the WGA posted a more detailed update on their negotiations, stating the latest proposals offered by Hollywood studios still aren’t enough:

Some Amazon staffers are opting to leave after being told they need to relocate to work from one of the company’s main hubs, CNBC reports. The company made a big change to its in-office policies earlier this year, moving from a model where teams made their own decisions to one where employees are expected to be in the office at least three days per week.

Today UPS workers voted to ratify a five-year agreement negotiators reached with the company last month, which the union says is “raising wages for full- and part-time workers, creating more full-time jobs, and securing important workplace protections, including air conditioning.”

According to Variety, the number of layoffs is in the “double digits,” but it doesn’t affect the company’s content division. Warner Bros. Discovery has had a rocky last few months, as it put productions on pause due to the Hollywood strikes, and lost subscribers following the rebranding of HBO Max to Max.

This report from Wired features interviews with Amazon employees and the first aid staff in the company’s in-warehouse medical centers, who claim Amazon discourages injured workers from visiting outside doctors.

Months after workers at eBay acquisition TCGplayer — known for dealing in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon, and Magic: The Gathering cards — won a vote to unionize, the company has finally recognized their union and committed to starting negotiations.

The NLRB has rejected an appeal from TCGPlayer and parent company eBay that sought to contest certain employees’ membership in TCG Union, according to an emailed press release.

When the Screen Actors Guild joined the Writers Guild of America in striking against the AMPTP last month, Disney CEO Bob Iger called workers’ demands for better pay and a cut of streaming profits “disturbing” and unrealistic.

In a move highlighted by Hollywood’s ongoing strikes and reports of unsustainable working conditions during the production of Across the Spider-Verse, a supermajority of the more than 50 people in Marvel Studios’ visual effects crews signed cards saying they want to be represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

Though the South Korean entertainment industry’s exploitation of its workers is well documented, writers and production workers attached to Korean Netflix projects have spoken out about how the streamer’s making things even worse for them.

While Hollywood’s ongoing double labor strike has exposed the studios’ willingness to see the workers who help create their profits become destitute, Warner Bros. Discovery also wants investors to know that it’s saved more than $100 million in Q2 because of the work stoppage.

Joe Biden asked the Department of Labor today to issue a first-ever ‘Hazard Alert’ for heat. The move comes after UPS and Amazon employees demanded protections from sweltering work conditions. The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) started the rulemaking process for a federal heat standard to protect workers back in 2021. This week, farm workers and Congress members urged OSHA to finalize and implement the rule.

The possibility of a Teamsters strike cutting off the last-mile deliveries by UPS that many retailers rely on (including Amazon, which reportedly remains UPS’ biggest customer by revenue despite its own delivery network) appears to have been averted, as the two reached a new five-year contract that will need to be ratified through a vote by the 340,000~ unionized workers.

A “supermajority” of the “approximately 100 eligible members” have signed union cards to form Grindr United, according to a press release from the Communication Workers of America. The employees come from multiple departments at Grindr, including engineering, design, IT, marketing, and quality insurance.

During Netflix’s earnings call on Wednesday, co-CEO Ted Sarandos opened with a statement about the writers’ and actors’ strike:

Netflix says it expects a free cash flow of at least $5 billion in 2023 — $1.5 billion more than its original $3.5 billion estimate, citing the “ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes,” but noting there could be “lumpiness” moving to 2024.

According to a report from Bloomberg, over “a dozen current and former employees” believe the company isn’t doing enough to hire and promote women and people of color.

The Screen Actors Guild went on strike over major studios’ refusal to meet their demands for a two percent cut of streaming revenue and a 230 percent increase in foreign streaming residuals, among others, according to Variety.

Two out of the big three Hollywood labor unions are on strike, citing streaming and AI as major issues, and actors are starting to picket offices for companies like Warner Bros., Netflix, and Amazon. This screengrab from CNBC captures the initial reaction of Wall Street.