IATSE has accused the Association of Independent Commercial Producers of “union busting”Companies with the ability to provide a “license to blacklist”Unionizing efforts are being made by workers in the production department.
The union reported last month that thousands of workers working in TV commercial production had joined a new union called Stand with Production. It is part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
IATSE says now that these workers are facing “heavy resistance to their organizing efforts,”It also claims that the AICP was distributing “union-busting materials to its member companies. In the document, the AICP appears to give its companies a license to blacklist union supporters, stating: ‘Companies can refuse to hire union members as supervisors and can fire supervisors that engage in union activity so long as certain safeguards are met…’”
These AICP materials are called “What to Do When There Is a Union Organizing Campaign,” here.
“This is a slap in the face to every IATSE member,” said IATSE president Matt Loeb. “All workers should be able to make their voices heard without threats or fear of retaliation. In response to this escalation by the AICP, we will safeguard the democratic process with a variety of counter-retaliation measures, including publicly tracking instances where workers believe they have been retaliated against, and referring these cases to the National Labor Relations Board in cases where Federal Labor Law is violated.”
IATSE states that the AICP is also supported by IATSE “has now repeatedly indicated its intent to undermine this unionization effort by fighting to exclude certain positions, regardless of the will of the workers.”
“IATSE stands with production,”He concluded, “and we share in the goal to have production positions from PA’s to producers recognized under a single union. The truth is, once these workers present their cards, the AICP could voluntarily recognize their union with all positions included. And if they don’t, the only party that would be responsible for creating divisions and exclusions would be the AICP.”
Deadline reached out to AICP with any comments.