FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
As IATSE, Teamsters and the Hollywood Basic Crafts prepare for contract negotiations next year, the unions continue to work together to support and provide for their memberships.
Yesterday, at the IATSE West Coast Office in Burbank, union crew-members’ part of the IATSE, Teamsters Local 399, and Hollywood Basic Crafts coordinated a Thanksgiving meal distribution event for their members. Over the course of the day 1,300 union families were served with a Thanksgiving meal and gift card to purchase a protein of choice for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Assisting for the day were over 200 union crew-members, many of which who also were picking up a meal box to take home to their families.
Prior to the beginning of the distribution, a volunteer meeting was held to set the stage not only for the logistics of the day, but also the importance of solidarity among the IATSE, Teamsters and Hollywood Basic Crafts as they all prepare for bargaining in 2024.
“Thank you for volunteering your time to help one another. We do take care of our own and that’s how we survive in situations like this,” said Teamsters Local 399 Principal Officer Lindsay Dougherty. “Walking the picket lines in solidarity and participating in food drives to help one another has only made us stronger. With our contract fight next year, we are going to get every single thing we need to support our members and we won’t back down.”
Since July, Teamsters and IATSE have hosted four food distribution events to support their out-of-work members due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and Industry shutdown.
“We’re setting a standard for the industry, we’re setting a standard for ourselves and we are sending a clear message to our employers — they can’t keep us down when we’re fighting for a fair deal,” said Michael Miller, IATSE Vice President. “It’s our turn next.We are going in aggressive and the employers are not going to be able to hold us back. These kind of events show the solidarity that we have going into next year’s fight.”
These member-led events are made possible by Labor Community Services, who serves as the charitable arm of the Los Angeles Federation of Labor. Labor Community Services has been assisting unemployed and underemployed families with groceries for over six decades, and supporting Hollywood workers has been a key priority over the past year. Quixote by Sunset, Herc Rentals and Reel Waste donated items to the event to ensure its success.
With the Christmas Holiday right around the corner, the same unions are in the middle of coordinating a Holiday Toy Drive for their members. Details about that event and how to donate to support can be found here: https://lcs-la.org/lean-in-and-lean-on.