Firms in Georgia nonetheless recovering from the closure of the pandemic face a movie employee strike

The union, which represents thousands of film and television workers behind the scenes, says members will go on strike on Monday if an agreement is not reached with producers. It could disrupt dozens of projects currently under way in Georgia.

When it comes to dealing with the financial consequences of strikes, Georgia has not had much experience lately.

“You know, we usually think that the fact that fewer workers are unionized in Georgia than in other parts of the country makes us a little less susceptible to strike activity,” said Roger Tutterow, an economist at Kennesaw State University.

He says the impact largely depends on how long a strike lasts. He also says it is important to remember what many Georgian companies that depend on the film industry for business have been through over the past two years.

“There are spillovers on the hospitality and retail sectors, two industries that have already been pretty badly hit by the pandemic,” Tutterow said.

One example is Elizabeth’s Catering, which makes 95% of its business from film and television productions across Georgia. It’s a company that started as a bakery in 2012 and has grown into a full-time caterer. Owner Beth Castro says they had to close for a while in March 2020 before they gradually found more work.

“We really created and styled the way back through catering by making individual boxes as opposed to the traditional line where people help themselves,” Castro said.

And this year, she says, they’ve been busy.

“We turned down four productions in the last week because we will be fully booked until the end of the year,” said Castro.

But those plans could be thwarted from Monday when film workers from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees – who are demanding higher wages and more regular working hours – go on strike.

Macroeconomic Impact

A potential strike could affect some companies, but it will have little impact on Georgia’s economy as a whole.

Kennesaw State University economist JC Bradbury says if they go on strike, filming here will stop, but it won’t have a significant impact on Georgia’s economy.

“On the news and other broadcasts, they talk about this huge impact. But if you look at the movie industry in Georgia, it’s about $ 3 billion a year, which sounds like a lot, ”Bradbury said.

But he says it’s only half a percent of the state’s total GDP.

And he points out that many of the 15,000-20,000 workers in Georgia are part-time or are from the state.

Susanna Capelouto from WABE contributed to this report.