Film and TV crews reach deal with employers to avert strike action

A poster advocating union solidarity hangs from a Costume Designers Guild office in Burbank, California (Chris Pizzello/AP)

An 11th-hour deal has been reached to avert a strike by film and television crews that would have seen some 60,000 behind-the-scenes workers walk off their jobs and freeze work on productions in Hollywood and across the US.

After days of marathon negotiations, representatives from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and from the studios and entertainment companies who employ them reached the three-year contract agreement, avoiding a serious setback for an industry that has just returned to work after long pandemic shutdowns.