Negotiations will continue into next week on changes to Hollywood’s COVID-19 security agreement, which is expected to take place this weekend (April 30). Existing protocol protocols between major industry guilds and studios will remain in place until a new agreement is reached.
But even without an announcement, experts don’t expect drastic changes to the latest version of the nearly two-year-old health and safety agreement, as the spread of COVID continues to change and local production continues to grow.
This round of discussions is unlikely to lead to significant updates to the deal, two union sources say. “It just came to our attention then. “They’re just going to extend the date of the deal,” said one trade unionist, who spoke on condition of anonymity. IATSE Local 871 business representative Patrick Abaravic, who is not a party to the agreement but was involved in the negotiations, also said he has heard that the negotiations are aimed at maintaining the current status quo. “We try to keep these protocols as high as possible for our members because we are working in an environment where the show can spread,” Abaravich said. He says the general approach is, “When in doubt, scale up” to “keep workplaces and workplaces as safe as possible.”
While most measures will likely remain in place, a third party familiar with the negotiations expects the testing requirements to be more lenient, both in terms of frequency and type of testing. The person said it was a push for cheaper and faster antigen testing “in general”.
“As we emerge from the pandemic as [Chief Medical Advisor Anthony] Fauch said the performances still want to ensure people’s safety and they don’t want to shut down production because it’s a shame for everyone, but at the same time they want to start cutting costs for everyone now. These are Covid protocols,” the person added.
Amendments to the Return Agreement in February approved the use of additional antigen tests to supplement previously authorized tests.
The latest changes to the agreement were announced in February, when the agreement’s definition of what it means to be “fully vaccinated” or “updated” in a vaccine was changed to include booster shots. The modifications also included increasing the use of antigen testing and complementation of workers on paid sick leave from COVID-19, giving them 10 days if they had already taken days off of ongoing production. The coverage manual was also amended to require employers to provide KN95, KF94 or N95 masks.
The Joint Labor and Management Agreement has been extended several times since it was first signed in September 2020. In July 2021, both parties introduced vaccines into the agreement for the first time, allowing manufacturers to require vaccines in the “Zone”, which includes cameramen and those who work most closely with them.
Ivy Kagan Bierman, president of Loeb & Loeb Entertainment Practices, says any loosening of protocols could boost morale affected by resistance, which some consider too stringent requirements.
“What I’ve seen working with all types of products on COVID is that not all of these protocols have increased value, but they have also increased anxiety levels and, in some cases, even delays when people stop producing. “That, whether for philosophical or political reasons, goes against some protocols,” said Kagan Burman.
Last week, there were an average of 1,669 new cases a day in Los Angeles County. This number increases in April due to spring break and the spread of the Omicron BA.2 subvariant, although it is far from the rate of infections in January, when there were 42,000 new cases per day. According to the county’s Department of Public Health, 2,335 new cases and eight deaths were reported as of Thursday.
To reduce the frequency of transmission, 79% of the country’s population received at least one dose of the vaccine. 73 percent are fully vaccinated.
On April 21, Los Angeles Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer announced that Los Angeles County’s public transportation systems still required commuters to wear masks after a Florida judge struck down the federal mask mandate for the United States. Department of Public Transport (Department of Justice). Local authorities said the infectious subvariant BA.2 is currently spreading transmission in the region.
On April 29, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported three or more outbreaks of COVID at DreamWorks Animation in Glendale, Fox Sports in Century City and a Sony Pictures Studios building in Culver City.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
