The Teamsters Union has expressed support for President Donald Trump’s recent decision to impose a 100 percent tariff on films produced outside the United States. In a statement, Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien and Teamsters Motion Picture Division Director Lindsay Dougherty addressed the longstanding issue of outsourcing in Hollywood.
“For years, Hollywood studios have hollowed out the industry by following Corporate America’s crooked playbook of outsourcing good union jobs,” they stated. The union leaders criticized studios for seeking cheaper production costs overseas at the expense of American workers who helped build the film and TV industry.
“These gigantic corporations line their pockets by recklessly cutting corners, abandoning American crews, and exploiting tax loopholes abroad,” they continued. According to them, while companies benefit financially from moving operations overseas, union members suffer negative consequences.
The Teamsters Union has been vocal about this issue for some time. They believe that if studios want to profit from American box offices, they should also invest in American workers. “We thank President Trump for boldly supporting good union jobs when others have turned their heads,” O’Brien and Dougherty said.
They see this move as a significant step towards addressing what they describe as an “un-American addiction” to outsourcing work away from their members. The statement concluded with a call for more film production jobs to be created domestically: “It’s time to create good film jobs here at home by bringing production back to America.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million people across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.
