Striketober: Labor Militancy Grows as U.S. Workers Walk Off the Job & IATSE Members Get Tentative Deal

We begin our coverage of what some are calling Striketober" with a look at how the union of 60,000 television and film production workers averted a strike just hours before a midnight deadline on Saturday, when it reached a tentative agreement with an association of Hollywood producers representing companies like Walt Disney, Netflix and Amazon. The tentative deal brings members of IATSE, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, higher pay, longer breaks, better healthcare and pension benefits. Some members say the deal doesn't go far enough, and about 40,000 members from 13 Hollywood locals must still approve the pact. Jacobin writer Alex Press says the averted strike is part of a broader moment" of labor militancy across the United States, including workers at Amazon, Kellogg's and elsewhere. Workers are willing to fight back," she says. They understand they have more leverage right now."