Teamsters Pound Paramount Over WBD Merger Promises & Threats: “Stop Playing Games”

The Hollywood Teamsters 399 union has again expressed its opposition to Paramount Skydance's plan to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. This comes after a string of industry leaders and unions have voiced their stance on the merger since California Attorney General Rob Bonta's lawsuit to block it was scheduled to begin in March 2027.

Teamsters Secretary-Treasurer Lindsay Dougherty questioned the motives behind the merger, pointing out that executives have promised worker prosperity without providing assurances, while simultaneously threatening workers' livelihoods through negative press.

Dougherty's statement came the day after Directors Guild executive director Russell Hollander and IATSE President Matthew D. Loeb issued a joint letter to Bonta and Paramount leadership, urging a settlement to allow the merger to proceed. The letter highlighted concerns that allowing the lawsuit to proceed could result in uncertainty for both Warner and Paramount regarding the greenlighting of new projects, potentially leading to a decrease in jobs for directors and crew members.

The unions also demanded nine specific conditions in any settlement, including maintaining separate production, marketing, and distribution divisions for the merged companies, with Paramount's headquarters staying in Los Angeles.

Teamsters joins other unions, such as SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America, in firmly opposing the merger. The Writers Guild has also filed its own lawsuit to block the merger. Both Teamsters and the Writers Guild have been among the most vocal critics of media mergers, with Dougherty previously expressing strong opposition to the merger between Nexstar and Tegna.