The 60,000 members of the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) voted to approve a strike authorization -- but that doesn’t mean that your favorite shows and movies are shutting down yet.

Who is IATSE? Their membership makes up most of the names you see at the end of your favorite movies. Camera operators, grips, hair and makeup artists, sound techs, costume designers… they are the ones who keep Hollywood running. And for the first time in the 128-year history of this union, they voted to strike.

To make it clear who these folks are and why they’re on strike, we interviewed IATSE members who told their side of the story. Watch the report and sign the solidarity pledge today!

As the workers in our video make clear: Hollywood film production exploits behind the scenes crews in ways that are rarely publicized. From 12+ hour workdays to quick turnarounds overnight, Local 600 member Andrew Kennedy-Derkay describes the punishing schedule that Hollywood demands of its crews:

“Working 70 hours a week, trying to turn your body around on a Saturday as you’re watching the sun rise and trying to pull into your driveway without falling asleep at the wheel, and then turning around to work again at 6am on a Monday. It’s incredibly unsafe, and there isn’t a person who I’ve worked with who hasn’t said ‘I’ve almost fallen asleep at the wheel.’”

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which includes media mega-corporations collectively worth trillions of dollars, walked away from the bargaining table months ago -- leaving behind-the-scenes crews without basic human necessities like adequate sleep, meal breaks, and living wages.

Here’s the good news: The strike vote brought the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) back to the bargaining table. Now we need to keep up the pressure to close the deal!

SIGN NOW to demand that the AMPTP make a fair deal with IATSE film and television workers!