As Paramount races to consummate its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, the company has formed a standalone industrial relations department led by longtime executives Nicole Lang and Sheldon Kasdan.
The company announced the creation of the department, which handles labor relations with Hollywood’s powerful unions, on Monday in a move that seems designed to telegraph that it is taking labor seriously as it attempts to consolidate two of the industry’s historic studios. Both execs have longstanding working relationships with Hollywood’s top unions, with Lang having joined the company in 2007 and Kasdan in 2016.
Lang and Kasdan report to Paramount Skydance’s chief legal officer Makan Delrahim. “Nicole and Sheldon have played a key role in navigating recent labor negotiations and strengthening our relationships with our partners across the industry,” Delrahim said in a statement. “Elevating Industrial Relations to a standalone division reflects both the importance of this work and our confidence in their continued leadership.”
Representatives from several unions offered their congratulations in statements. “As Paramount and the industry continue to evolve, it is encouraging and gratifying to know that the company’s emphasis on its relationship with the IATSE, and most importantly, the concerns of our members who will continue to provide invaluable services to their productions, remain in the forefront of their operations,” IATSE International president Matthew Loeb said. “The creation of a new Industrial Relations Division affirms the importance of labor relations and secures that attention to matters crucial to its labor force are addressed at the highest levels of the company.”
SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator and national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland praised Lang and Kasdan for their “professionalism, seriousness of purpose and a clear understanding that durable agreements are built through respect, direct engagement and a willingness to solve hard problems.” DGA national executive director Russell Hollander called them “thoughtful, solutions-oriented partners.”
Hollywood labor at large has been less enthusiastic about the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount Skydance megamerger, which is being treated overall with skepticism. The Writers Guild of America has been most vocal, opposing the merger entirely, while Directors Guild of America president Christopher Nolan was cautious in his assessment of the deal in an interview earlier this year. “A merger is going to mean loss of jobs. It’s going to mean consolidation. We all know that,” he said. (The DGA has not gone public with an official position on the deal, and neither has SAG-AFTRA nor IATSE.)
It is unclear what roles Lang and Kasdan would take at a combined Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery, though Monday’s announcement offered a clear vote of confidence.
Lang, an evp at the company, handles labor relations for Paramount’s motion picture division and manages studio back lot operations. She is a board member of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and serves as a board member on multiple union pension and health plans. She received a master’s in law at Georgetown University Law Center, a law degree at Whittier Law School and bachelor’s degree at the University of California at Davis.
Kasdan, who is also an evp for Paramount, oversees labor relations for the union’s TV media division and PTVS. A board member of the AMPTP, he also serves on the boards of union pension and health plans. Kasdan graduated from Loyola Law School and the University of California Los Angeles.
On June 18 Los Angeles’ Department of Economic Opportunity issued a report stating the potential Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger “places about 2,495 jobs in Greater Los Angeles County and about 6,000 globally at potential risk.”
A Paramount representative said in response to the report, “A combined Paramount-WBD will have the scale and resources needed to compete more effectively in a rapidly evolving global media marketplace and invest in content, technology, and jobs.”
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