Casting directors from across the nation will hold an election this month to join the Teamsters after reaching an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) in February that acknowledged their desire to seek union representation.

Approximately 300 casting directors and associates will vote in the election, which will be conducted through the National Labor Relations Board. The mail ballots will be sent out in May with the results being tabulated by mid-June.

The casting directors will be represented by Teamster Locals 817 in New York and Local 399 in Los Angeles if they vote to join the union.

“This is an important group in that they are the last significant unit of workers that do not receive union representation,” said Tom O’Donnell Jr., Local 817 Secretary-Treasurer. “We expect a positive vote, and look forward to getting them a first contract with benefits that they have not had in past and deserve.”

The Teamsters have spent three years organizing the casting directors, one of the few job classifications of theatrical workers who are not unionized. Key issues have centered on the lack of health-care coverage, timely compensation and unpaid wages.

Steve Dayan, a business agent for Teamsters Local 399, does not foresee any problems arising with the vote.

“I am confident that when we receive the results in June the casting directors will overwhelmingly vote to join the Teamsters,” Dayan said.