2023: A Landmark Year for Hollywood Labor and Top Union Salaries
2023 was a landmark year for Hollywood labor as actors and writers launched a historic double strike, aiming to reshape an industry navigating through major transformations. During this pivotal period, the top union leaders played crucial roles in advocating for better conditions related to AI and fair compensation in the streaming era. Unsurprisingly, these chief negotiators also led the pack in Hollywood’s top labor salaries.
Top Salaries for Hollywood Union Leaders
According to the latest LM-2 filings, which provide annual financial reports for unions, the highest-paid labor leaders in Hollywood were:
• Duncan Crabtree-Ireland: The national executive director of SAG-AFTRA, Crabtree-Ireland took home an impressive $1,016,182. His role was critical during the strikes, advocating for the rights and fair treatment of actors.
• Russell Hollander: The national executive director of the Directors Guild of America earned $775,000. Hollander was pivotal in negotiating terms that affected directors and their role in the evolving industry landscape.
• Ellen Stutzman: As the executive director of the Writers Guild of America West, Stutzman’s salary was $682,692, reflecting her significant role in the writers’ strike and negotiations.
Following these top earners, the list included:
• Matthew Loeb: The long-serving top officer of IATSE received $553,487. His experience and leadership were vital in representing the interests of technical and craft workers.
• Alvin Vincent Jr.: The executive director for Actors’ Equity earned $437,528, reflecting his role in advocating for Broadway actors and stage managers.
• Cathy Repola: Outgoing national executive director of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, Repola earned $374,210.
• Lowell Peterson: The former executive director of WGA East took home $349,061.
Teamsters Leaders and Their Earnings
At the lower end of the top earners’ list were major Teamsters leaders in entertainment:
• Thomas J. O’Donnell: The principal officer for Local 817 earned $312,325.
• Lindsay Dougherty: The L.A.-based leader of Local 399 earned $272,962, combining her salary from both Local 399 and her role as a VP of the international union.
High Salaries in the Labor Market
In 2023, just 90 employees from national labor unions out of 12,753 earned more than $350,000, according to Wayne State University’s Marick Masters. This data reflects a broader trend where leaders in high-profile unions, such as the Air Line Pilots Association and the National Football League Players Association, also receive significant compensation.
Contextualizing Union Leader Salaries
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Robert Bruno notes that these salaries are not “wildly disproportionate” when compared to industry norms. Given the substantial earnings in the entertainment sector and the high value of individual contracts, such salaries are expected. The compensation of union leaders in Hollywood, although high, aligns with the significant financial stakes and earnings of the industry.
To put these salaries into perspective, Hollywood studio CEOs, like Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, Disney’s Bob Iger, and former Paramount president Bob Bakish, earned over $30 million in 2023—nearly 30 times the salary of SAG-AFTRA’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. This stark contrast highlights the disparity between top union leader salaries and executive compensation in the entertainment industry.
As the industry continues to evolve, the high salaries of union leaders reflect their essential roles in navigating labor challenges and negotiating significant changes in a rapidly transforming Hollywood landscape.
