Bectu issues open letter to AMPTP: crew are paying the price of your failed negotiations

Bectu, the UK’s union for the creative industries, has today written to the president of the AMPTP, Carol Lombardini, regarding the alliance’s ongoing disputes with WGA East and West and SAG-AFTRA. Read the letter here.

Nearly 4,000 film and TV workers in the UK recently shared their experiences of the industry shutdown with Bectu, who found that 8 in 10 have been directly impacted by the US strikes, and three quarters are currently without work. Read more here.

A quarter said they did not see themselves working in film and TV in 5 years’ time.

Head of Bectu Philippa Childs said:

“The UK’s and indeed the global screen industries simply would not survive without the workforce. This is an industry which sees enormous profits enter the pockets of the AMPTP’s members. Meanwhile, it is hardworking crew and other workers who are worried about their mortgages defaulting, or how they might survive several more months without work in what is already a precarious sector.

“The AMPTP cannot be ignorant of the huge and detrimental impact their disputes are having on our industry and we urge them to do the right thing and resume negotiations with a genuine resolve to reach a satisfactory agreement.

“Film and TV workers, many of whom have spent decades in the industry, are walking away, unable to sustain a career in the sector that they love. These are highly skilled professionals with transferable skills who can and will take their expertise elsewhere if things do not improve.

“The AMPTP and its members must take notice and get back to the negotiating table. If they want to see the UK and global industry thrive into the future they should be directing all their energies into resolving this dispute.”