Lights, Camera, (Labor) Action!

We won’t call it an “emergency” pod because the news is kinda good. We’d call it Breaking news … but it’s not really that either. WHAT IT IS: a conversation with Rebecca Cook, proud Spokanite and Vice President of IATSE Local 488, which serves film and TV crews in Washington, Oregon, Montana and North Idaho.We discuss: The breadth of entertainment workers in our area How a 12-hour “shoot day” is really a 16-hour work day.How grueling hours lead to unsafe working conditions and potentially deadly commutes.How “new media” like Netflix, Amazon & Disney+ continue to pay people poorly, even as they cross a quarter-trillion dollars of market value, thanks to outdated contracts they are trying desperately to maintain at the expense of workers’ health and safety.The overwhelming majority of workers who are now saying “enough is enough.”BUT ALSO: Some seriously encouraging news about how taking this stand seems to be working.Further ReadingWorking conditions on film shoots: IAStories on Instagram & TwitterSolid background on how we got here.Track this fast-moving story at the industry trades Deadline & VarietyA Smidge of ActionAn exhaustive list of resources and ways to help.It’s one of our more hopeful episodes in a while! Enjoy! Get full access to RANGE at www.rangemedia.co/subscribe