The Teamsters union — representing more than 4,000 Hollywood drivers, location managers and scouts, casting directors and animal wranglers — is giving the WGA’s strike plans a major boost with a show of solidarity that could seriously disrupt local production, Variety reports.
The leader of Teamsters Local 399 is advising members that they should honor WGA picket lines as long as they’re acting as individuals. The Writers Guild of America could go on strike as early as Thursday; negotiations resume today at the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers offices.
In a message posted Monday, secretary-treasurer Leo Reed said Local 399 can’t strike, picket or boycott a producer while its contract is in effect and must use its “best efforts” to get employees to perform. But Reed added that those restrictions don’t apply to individuals.
“As for me as an individual, I will not cross any picket line whether it is sanctioned or not because I firmly believe that Teamsters do not cross picket lines,” Reed said in the message.
The move was not unexpected, as the Teamsters are the only Hollywood union with specific language allowing members to honor picket lines without reprisal from employers. Reed noted in the message that if Joint Council 42 of the Teamsters sanctions the WGA strike, the companies have agreed that they will not discipline any employee who refuses to cross.
