What do Labor Demands of Film/TV Workers Have to do with the Rust Shooting?

Sonali Kolhatkar speaks with Sarah Hughes, Staff writer and Organizer at Labor Notes, whose latest article is, Shocking Death on Set Shows What’s at Stake in IATSE Film and TV Crew Contract Fight, Fae Weischel, a first assistant camera and member of IATSE Local 600

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on the set of a film after actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun last week while rehearsing a scene. The shooting also injured director Joel Souza. Baldwin had been handed a gun that he was reportedly told did not contain rounds.

Just hours before the incident about 6 crew members had reportedly walked off the set in protest of long hours and poor housing, and were replaced by a new camera crew. Later, chief electrician Serge Svetnoy wrote an emotional Facebook post detailing how Hutchins died in his arms and that the accident was the result of “negligence and unprofessionalism.”

The incident, which has garnered headlines, came just as IATSE, the union representing 60,000 film and television crew members, had accepted a new labor contract that its members are expected to vote on. On-set crews have been fighting against grueling and unsafe working conditions.

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Alec Baldwin Free Speech TV Halyna Hutchins Human Rights IATSE IATSE Local 600 Joel Souza Labor Notes Rising Up with Sonali Rust Sarah Hughes Serge Svetnor Sonali Kolhatkar Workers' Rights