“It’s leaving people in these positions for much longer than people used to work in them and keeping them at very suppressed low wages,” IATSE Local 871 vice-president Marisa Shipley told the Guardian, noting that these workers often don’t make much more than California’s minimum wage of $15 an hour.

What happens if crew members go on strike?

AMPTP said in a statement it is committed to working with the IATSE to avoid a strike, adding that reaching a deal “will require both parties working together in good faith with a willingness to compromise and to explore new solutions to resolve the open issues.”

Actors including Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Octavia Spencer have come out in support of the crew members, as have politicians including Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff.

The last major Hollywood strike was from 2007 to 2008, when 12,000 writers walked off the job. It lasted 100 days and caused production of shows to be delayed, shortened, and even canceled. While it’s unclear how long an IATSE strike would last, it would affect many more workers, with some 60,000 crew members involved in the current contract negotiation. Film and television shows produced by studios including Warner Bros. Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Apple TV, Netflix, and Disney+ would likely be impacted, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

This strike could extend well beyond Hollywood, too, with productions from the Hudson Valley to Canada potentially affected.

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