2 days ago
Editors Guild Protests Against Nonfiction Producer Story Syndicate At Tribeca Premiere Of OceanGate Submersible Documentary ‘Titan'
EXCLUSIVE: The Motion Picture Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700) has staged a protest against nonfiction production company Story Syndicate outside the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of its OceanGate submersible documentary Titan.
Audience members were greeted outside the Village East by Angelika theater Friday evening by guild members distributing fliers that call attention to Story Syndicate's 'anti-union conduct' and put pressure on management amid contentious negotiations.
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The MPEG brought charges of Unfair Labor Practices against Story Syndicate before the National Labor Relations Board in March, accusing the Harry & Meghan producers of refusal to bargain and bad faith bargaining.
'This company brands itself as a champion of progressive filmmaking,' Alan Heim, ACE, President of Motion Picture Editors Guild, said in a statement to Deadline. 'But when it comes to honoring the rights of the very workers who bring these stories to life, their actions tell a different story. Editors deserve respect, security, and a contract that reflects their value.'
He continued: 'We support bold nonfiction storytelling, but the treatment of workers behind the camera should be just as bold, just as fair, and just as progressive.'
The MPEG and the Writers Guild of America East won their joint effort to unionize producers and editorial employees at Story Syndicate in 2023. Since then, the MPEG says, management has 'repeatedly delayed negotiations, backtracked on offers it had previously placed on the table, and refused to budge from outrageous positions calculated to kill the prospect of a negotiated agreement.'
The union also accuses Story Syndicate of insisting upon retaining the right to cut employees' weekly pay without cause or warning.
This union action against the company comes about six months after the Editors Guild and the Writers Guild of America East jointly petitioned Story Syndicate to finalize a fair deal. At the time, more than 250 members of the unions called on the company to 'be the industry leaders they are and set a precedent others can follow to create a truly inclusive and transparent work environment.'
'Long delays, proposals that are out of line with industry standards, and refusals to respond to important proposals would not reflect well on the company's stated principles,' read the petition, which included signatures from Lilly Wachowski, John Walsh, Tom Fontana, and Josh Gondelman.
Titan explores the story behind the OceanGate submersible implosion that dominated the news cycle for days in 2023. Directed by Marc Monroe, the film is set to premiere globally on Netflix on June 11.
Story Syndicate was co-founded by Liz Garbus and Dan Cogan in 2019. It has become quite known for producing social impact documentaries and nonfiction series, such as Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer and Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna. Other projects from the company include Nuclear Family (HBO), I'll Be Gone In The Dark (HBO), and The Innocence Files (Netflix) as well as documentary features like Fauci (Nat Geo), Becoming Costeau (Nat Geo), Mayor Pete (Amazon), Britney vs. Spears (Netflix), and All In: The Fight For Democracy (Amazon).
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