Contract Spotlight: Historic Agreements

Brothers & Sisters,

Congratulations to our members working under our Motion Picture Basic Agreement and our Universal Studios Supplemental Agreements. These two agreements were overwhelmingly ratified and members have the largest wage increases these agreements have had in four decades. Over 97% of our membership has not seen a wage increase of this scale since joining the Local, and nearly a third weren’t even born yet.

On top of the historic wage increases, here are some other notable gains in the Motion Picture Basic Agreement:

• Starting in 2025, members will have access to two additional sick days, an added holiday on June 19 for Juneteenth, and 3 paid days off for bereavement.
• Employers are now required to provide direct deposit. Many of our studio lots opened direct deposit up for everyone during the pandemic, but Disney was still not offering it to all of our members, and under this new CBA, members now get the choice.
• Access to contribute to a 401k. While this is not available just yet, as it will take some time to draft the changes to the 401k plan and coordinate the administrative process with the payroll department, we are working on having this option ready soon.
• Another historic achievement was the enabling language in the CBA that will allow us to amend our bylaws for dues to be deducted weekly from your check. The Local has had proposals on this multiple times over the decades, and we now have language that gives our members the power to make this choice. With dues deduction, we are putting some materials together to present to the membership for your review. When making big changes like this, we want to take the time to make sure it is done right, and done once.

The biggest takeaway from these historic agreements is that this is only accomplished with having strong leadership from your Business Manager, negotiating committee, and shop stewards. This all starts with an active and engaged membership. Thank you for your dedication and commitment. Making your voice heard, and having solidarity is how we can secure these historic agreements.

In Solidarity,

Juan Rodriguez
President