New York TV and Film Post Production Coordinators Vote to Join CWA

The Workers are the First Group of Post Production Coordinators to Officially Form a Union in New York’s Motion Picture Industry

New York TV and Film Post Production Coordinators’ Historic Victory Marks the First Time Workers Employed By Apple Win in an Official National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Election

New York, N.Y. — Today, a group of freelance post production coordinators in New York unanimously voted for union representation with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), becoming the first post production coordinators in New York’s motion picture industry to win formal union representation. The workers, members of CWA Local 1101, filed for separate National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) elections at eight major studios.

“I am proud of the phenomenal organizing that led us to this victory. It is a bright new day for post production coordinators in New York, who have been overlooked and undervalued for a long time,” said Lauren Orban, Post Production Coordinator at Disney. “Our passion, commitment and hard work keeps the city’s motion picture industry thriving and we deserve to be treated and valued accordingly. Today’s win is a major step in that direction and we will not stop until we have a strong first contract,” added Jill Christiano, Post Production Coordinator at Lionsgate/Starz.

Post production coordinators in New York’s scripted film and TV industry have consistently delivered superior work contributing to the delivery of high quality content for some of the most esteemed and established studios including Apple, Netflix, CBS, HBO, Universal Television, and more. Until now, they have lacked union benefits and protections, in an industry where an overwhelming majority of their colleagues have collective bargaining agreements.

This victory marks the first time workers employed by Apple, which has launched an anti-union campaign at its retail stores, have won an NLRB election for union representation.

“My coworkers and I are excited to become the first group of workers to vote for a union at Apple through the NLRB process,” said Frankie Fortunato, Post Production Coordinator at Apple Studios.

Post production coordinators are part of a multi-faceted operation, bridging together all aspects of the filmmaking process. They play a vital role in the post production process by assisting in providing resources and workflows so the post production team can turn thousands of hours of raw footage into a polished final product including sound effects, color correction, music, visual effects, and other finished elements that moviegoers expect from the cinematic experience.

Their win follows the announcement of an agreement for a new contract for New York City area film and television Parking Production Assistants and the Parking Coordinators, represented by CWA Local 1101. The parking assistants and coordinators, who are employed by the same major studios, successfully negotiated a second collective bargaining agreement with significant improvements to wages and standards.

“The successful organizing of New York’s Parking Production Assistants and Coordinators and their precedent-setting first contract was a source of inspiration for us to come together and fight for a voice on the job,” said Gabi McDaniels, Post Production Coordinator at Nickelodeon/HBO. “We are encouraged by the announcement of their new, improved contract and we are proud to join them as fellow members of CWA Local 1101.”

These victories are representative of the growing wave of labor organizing across the country and further reaffirm CWA’s commitment to support worker organizing in the creative arts and cultural sectors, as well as the tech and game industries. From workers in the comic book and graphic novel industries to video game and tech workers at companies big and small, CWA continues to be a leading union of workers successfully organizing in historically non-union sectors. The post production coordinators will continue to be fully supported by their new union family as they negotiate a fair contract.

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About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion