Casting directors and associates in Los Angeles and New York have ratified a new three-year contract that was negotiated on their behalf by Teamsters locals 399 in LA and 817 in New York. The joint agreement with management’s AMPTP covers some 400 casting professionals in LA and about 100 in New York. "These were…

Hollywood's Teamsters Local 399 says it’s “ready to fight” for a new film and TV contract, negotiations for which have been delayed because it took IATSE longer than expected to arrive at terms for its own new film and TV pact. The Teamsters and the Basic Crafts unions, which will jointly negotiate an agreement with…

Former Chicago Teamsters boss John Coli Sr. is engaged in "ongoing plea negotiations" on federal charges that he extorted $325,000 from the Windy City's largest film studio, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Coli was indicted last summer on charges of extortion "by the wrongful use of fear of economic loss from…

UPDATED with statement from U.S. Attorney: After deliberating for more than 19 hours, a jury has acquitted all four Boston Teamsters who were accused of attempting to extort driving jobs from the producers of Top Chef three years ago. The not-guilty verdicts come a day after the jury forewoman sent a note to U.S…

The jury in the Top Chef attempted extortion trial of four Boston Teamsters is facing a crisis in its third day of deliberations and is not sure how to proceed. The jury forewoman has informed U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock that one of the jurors "is assuming guilt over innocence" and that the jurors "are…

For a second day, jurors in the Top Chef extortion trial have ended their deliberations without reaching a verdict on the fate of four Boston Teamsters accused to trying to shake down the show for unneeded driving jobs. As first reported by Deadline, the four men — all members of Boston Teamsters Local 25 — had set up…

UPDATE The jury has finished its deliberations for the day without reaching a verdict and will resume Friday morning. UPDATED with details and background: Closing arguments were heard today in the trial of four Boston Teamsters accused of attempting to extort driving jobs from the producers of Top Chef three years…

Jurors in the trial of four Boston Teamsters charged with trying to extort jobs at a Top Chef location shoot will be instructed Thursday not to infer anything from the fact that local police made no arrests during a raucous labor dispute three years ago. The case involves an incident outside the Steel & Rye restaurant…

UPDATED with other people’s testimony below: Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi took the witness stand today for the first time in trial of four Boston Teamsters accused of trying to extort the show for driving jobs during a location shoot three years ago. She testified that she was "terrified" and "felt threatened" as she…

Federal prosecutors today continued to hammer local cops for failing to intercede when Top Chef host Padma Lakshi and her staff were allegedly shoved and berated with an onslaught of vile and racist insults by Boston Teamsters three years ago. Four Teamsters are the subject of an extortion trial that completed its…

UPDATED: A Bravo executive testifying today in the trial of four Boston Teamsters accused of trying to extort no-show jobs from the Top Chef TV show told the jury that he offered to pay the Teamsters double “to go away” but that their union refused, demanding instead that the show’s production company sign a…

UPDATED with captioned video: A second female Top Chef producer testified today in Boston federal court that she too witnessed local Teamsters threatening to harm the show’s host, Padma Lakshmi, as she tried to cross their picket line back in June 2014. The reality competition show’s former location manager also was…