David Chameides, a camera operator for the Netflix drama “Ozark,” hardly gets any meal breaks anymore.
When he has a few seconds, he’ll grab a boxed lunch and find a dark corner to eat. “I’m a 52-year-old grown man and I hide while I eat my lunch,” Chameides said.
TV and film crews in Georgia and elsewhere are prepping to strike for the first time in decades, seeking saner work hours and more equitable pay for streaming service shows. A strike would impact tens of thousands of workers in Atlanta, from writers and actors to hair stylists and caterers.
Hollywood producers are under immense pressure to create new content as quickly as possible, be it films, miniseries, documentaries, reality shows or scripted series. The big streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max are spending billions of dollars a year in original programming seeking to build sizable subscriber bases.
The pandemic last year delayed production for several months, creating a massive backlog and increased costs associated with COVID-19 protocols. Productions now frequently run 14 to 16 hour days, sometimes with no meal breaks, crew members said.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Georgia is now the third largest state behind California and New York for film and TV production, fueled by generous tax credits passed in 2008 for content producers such as Amazon, Paramount, Sony and Netflix. Despite the pandemic, TV and film generated $4 billion in direct spending in Georgia for the fiscal year ending June 30, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
A strike would shut down more than 50 active film and TV productions in the state including a big-budget “Black Panther” sequel, “The Wonder Years” reboot on ABC, Fox’s medical drama “The Resident” and AMC’s long-running hit show, “The Walking Dead.”
“A strike is a last option,” said Ray Brown, president of the Georgia/Alabama chapter of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which represents more than 6,000 workers, up from 800 eight years ago. “This is nothing anyone is excited about doing. But they have left us with little option. We are coming together and I feel we have the strength to do this.”
Negotiations recently hit an impasse between IATSE and the group representing the producers, the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP). IATSE is asking its 150,000 members to vote this weekend on whether to give the union leadership permission to go on strike. It needs 75% of those who vote to say yes, and Brown said he’s confident they will get it.
Hours, breaks at issue
At a strike solidarity party organized by Atlanta camera operator Callie Moore at N.H. Scott Park in Decatur last Saturday, camera operator Chameides told the crowd of 150 TV and film crew members, “it’s a dirty little secret that I love what I do. I like eating cold pizza over trash cans in a parking lot in the middle of the night with you. You’re carnies! They know that. They know how bad we want this.”
But the pandemic, which shut down production for months, shifted his viewpoint a bit.
“We were reintroduced to our families, to regular sleep schedules, to eating meals at regular intervals,” Chameides said. “Now that we are back, we are realizing we simply want what everyone wants: reasonable hours, reasonable rest periods, the ability to be part of our families’ lives.”
Crew members do get overtime and penalty pay when meal breaks are dropped or work hours extend into the night. But pay aside, Chameides said, regular 70-hour work weeks take a toll on mental and physical health.
“This is not a money grab,” he said. “This is about basic dignity, about basic human rights.”
The producers’ group AMPTP, in a statement, said its last contract offer addressed many of IATSE’s concerns including pension and wages. But IATSE said their response isn’t enough, especially when it comes to scheduling and work hours.
‘A ton of momentum’
Kate Fortmueller, an assistant professor and media historian at the University of Georgia in the entertainment and media studies department, said complaints about long hours have been common for decades, citing a 2006 documentary on the subject, “Who Needs Sleep?” by Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler.
But Fortmueller said producers, given ever tighter deadlines to get more done, are pushing their workers harder than ever. “This is a level of solidarity among the unions I’ve not seen before” regarding a possible strike, she said. The unions representing the directors, the writers and the actors have all publicly supported IATSE as well.
“There is a ton of momentum,” said Fortmueller, who recently wrote a book about how Hollywood handled the pandemic. “This is a good time to do this. They have leverage to force the producers back to the table because Hollywood doesn’t want another production lockdown.”
Another sticking point is lower wages for crew members who work on what was once termed “new media,” meaning productions seen only on streaming services.
These wages were negotiated a decade ago when Netflix was just beginning work on original programming and streaming was still a nascent option for viewers.
But in just the past few years, streaming has grown to become a significant portion of TV viewing and major media and tech companies have jumped on the train with the introductions of Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+ and Peacock, to name a few. Streaming shows such as Apple TV+’s comedy “Ted Lasso” and HBO’s historical drama “The Crown” dominated the recent Emmy Awards.
Brennen Dicker, executive director of the Creative Media Industries Institute at Georgia State University, said pay differentials for crew members who work on streaming shows vs. those on cable or broadcast shows are all over the map, but overall, it’s a big enough problem that it has to be addressed.
“It’s not just a couple of dollars an hour,” said Dicker, who previously worked at Atlanta’s SIM International, which provides production and post-production services to the film industry. “The difference can be $20 an hour. It depends who you’re working with.”
And while producers have to pay employees extra fines if they force them to skip meals, it’s no longer enough to matter for those on a serious time crunch, Dicker said.
He also suspects tech companies like Apple and Amazon, who don’t normally deal with labor unions, are not fully grasping the power of the ones representing Hollywood workers, which have shown growth in recent years. “I wonder if there is some sort of disconnect with the higher ups in those companies,” he said.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Alfeo Dixon, a veteran camera operator since 1994 whose credits include “House of Payne,” “Sleepy Hollow” and “Being Mary Jane,” said he feels the pressure exacerbated by COVID-19 protocols preventing him from technically eating or drinking at all while on set.
“I can barely take a mask break and go out and breath some fresh air,” he said. “It’s hard just to run to the bathroom. I have to sneak in a Clif bar or peanuts or a banana and just wolf it down.”
A sampling of recent films and TV shows that have been shot in Georgia
“Coming 2 America,” comedy starring Eddie Murphy on Amazon Prime
“Dear Evan Hansen,” relationship drama starring Ben Platt recently released in movie theaters
“Black Widow,” Marvel superhero movie starring Scarlett Johansson
“The Resident,” Fox medical drama in its fifth season
“The Wonder Years,” new ABC comedy reboot
“Cobra Kai,” Netflix dramedy entering its fourth season in December
“BMF,” new Starz drama
Credit: Quantrell D. Colbert
Credit: Quantrell D. Colbert
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