The People Who Make Your Favorite Movies and Shows Are Fed Up

Eighteen-hour workdays with no lunch breaks. Car accidents caused by sleep deprivation. A crew member who returned to set the day after a miscarriage.

For months, members of a union representing more than 150,000 behind-the-scenes workers in the entertainment industry have shared hundreds of these stories on social media—anonymous testimonies about the grueling conditions on TV and film sets. This week that union, known as the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), achieved a historic milestone: In a near-unanimous vote, it authorized a strike—one that could halt all Hollywood productions for the foreseeable future.

Low pay and overwork is nothing new in the industry, , an assistant professor of entertainment and media studies at the University of Georgia, told me this week. Fortmueller’s research focuses on Hollywood’s labor practices and, to her, the a lawsuit and a petition for a 14-hour work limit. But such discussions eventually fizzled. Visibility for workers such as camera operators, costume designers, and production assistants simply couldn’t hold Hollywood’s—or the public’s—attention.