IATSE and AMPTP Begin ASA Negotiations

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) concluded the first of two scheduled weeks of Area Standards Agreement (ASA) negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on Friday. This week focused on classification and wage adjustments, subcontracting, working conditions and benefits enhancements.

ASA Negotiations — which covers 23 local unions and around 20,000 film and tv workers across the U.S. excluding Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Chicago — are scheduled to continue on Tuesday May 28. The ASA Negotiating Committee continues to work hard to address our ongoing bargaining priorities.

International President Matthew D. Loeb stated, “This negotiation is fundamentally about ensuring the employers respect our right to get off our feet and get some rest during a long workday, to get home safely and see our families and have some economic stability. The work will continue next week when we resume our talks with the employers.”

Art Directors Guild Elects New Leadership

The Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) announces Production Designer Dina Lipton has been elected President of the ADG, replacing outgoing President Nelson Coates. Lipton will lead a twenty-member Executive Board. For the first time in the Guild's history, the four top ranking members are all female executive officers.

“I’m thrilled to assume the role of President,” says Lipton. “Thank you to my fellow guild members for voting me into this role. I’m looking forward to working hard on behalf of the membership during my term.”

Members of the ADG elected Senior Senior Set Designer Kristen Davis as Vice President and Supervising Art Director Helen Harwell as Treasurer. Art Director/Senior Set Designer Judy Cosgrove is reelected to the role of Secretary. All four officers will serve three-year terms commencing June 1, 2024.

USA 829 Appoints First National Director

United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, IATSE has appointed its first-ever National Director in its nearly 130-year history. Josh Austin, the Local’s Communications Director and longtime labor leader and union staffer working across entertainment, media, and communications, was appointed to the new role this week. Local USA 829 is the national labor union and creative community of designers, artists, and coordinators working across the entertainment industry. The union has proudly represented and advocated for its members working in live performance, film, television, and commercials through collective bargaining, action, and solidarity.

From the USA 829 Local Union Executive Board: “The installation of a National Director position marks yet another profound moment for our Local — a moment in which we can actionably showcase our deeper commitment to support us all. This role offers a critical opportunity to rethink our structures, prioritize initiatives, and begin our journey to implement our Strategic Plan. As he has demonstrated in and out of the union, we know that Josh is the right person for this role at this critical moment. He has the capacity, the know-how, the passion, and the determination to work with each of us in realizing how we can continue to learn and grow together, to meet challenges creatively and inclusively, and to build a union and a community that welcomes, inspires, and uplifts us all.”

The appointment of this position marks an historic evolution for the union and its over 5,000 members — a moment that, during a particularly prolonged period of uncertainty and precarity in the entertainment industry—demonstrates a deeper commitment to sustain, evolve, and bolster the organization. USA 829’s Local Union Executive Board created this position to direct its initiatives, guide governance engagement, and help accomplish its recently
adopted, long-term Strategic Plan. The National Director will oversee the day-to-day operations of the organization and is responsible for the planning, organization, and direction of the union’s operations and programs in collaboration with Leaders, Staff, and Members. Specifically, this role is charged with operations, board governance, organizational mission and goals/Strategic Plan, and financial performance and viability.

Josh Austin has worked in the labor industry for over a decade. Having organized thousands of workers across entertainment, media, and communications, he started at Actors’ Equity Association, where he helped shape and innovate communications and member engagement. While serving as Communications Director, Josh led Equity to engage more politically (assisting the union in endorsing its first-ever presidential candidate in 2016), conducted and reported on an award-winning demographic study, and expanded the scope of member interaction. While Communications & Membership Director at the News Guild of New York, he revamped membership communications, led training and union development efforts, organized media
workers, and was part of a team that built a demonstrative member-led union. Here at Local USA 829, Josh has shaped and installed our communications department, accomplished several initiatives, and helped make our union more flexible, purposeful, and collaborative.