IATSE Members Cancel Streaming Subscriptions Ahead of Strike Vote

As a strike authorization vote looms, some IATSE members have decided to cancel their streaming subscriptions in hopes of sending a message that would hit the studios in the pocketbook.Workers in the below-the-line entertainment unions are gearing up to vote to authorize a strike this weekend, amid anger over long production hours without adequate break periods. The nascent campaign to cancel streaming subscriptions has spread online, but without the blessing or direction of union leadership.“It’s purely grassroots, as a means of getting the attention of these streaming services,” said Terri Freedman, who works in craft services and is a member of IATSE Local 80. “The biggest place to affect a corporation is where their income lies.”The move shows how the entertainment landscape has shifted, such that consumers now have a direct connection with the studios that make and distribute movies and shows, and an easy way to express their displeasure....