The Emmy-nominated drama The Pitt is making headlines again — this time not for what’s on screen, but for what’s unfolding just outside the Warner Bros. lot.

In a bold and unprecedented move, production assistants on the second season of The Pitt have formally petitioned the National Labor Relations Board and requested voluntary recognition for a union, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The campaign is the first public push from Production Assistants United, a new movement aimed at securing union representation for early-career support staff across the entertainment industry.

“This is the first time ever that we can say PAs and assistants are unionizing on a show like this in film and TV,” said organizer Ethan Ravens, a PA on the show himself. “It’s huge.”

Backed by LiUNA Local 724, the laborers’ union representing workers across multiple sectors in Hollywood, the drive targets just under 20 workers, including production assistants, executive assistants, and other support roles long left out of Hollywood’s union fold.

“We Deserve a Seat at the Table”

“We deserve a seat at the table, and unions are supposed to give their members a voice,” said one production assistant involved in the campaign, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “This is about progress, about being heard.”

Organizers say they’re pushing for wage increases, access to union health and pension plans, guaranteed rest periods, and meal penalties — benefits routinely offered to other crew members but not extended to PAs.

Alex Aguilar, secretary-treasurer of LiUNA Local 724, called the effort part of a broader shift. “Creative labor is essential labor,” Aguilar said. “All workers deserve the same rights, protections, and collective power.”

Warner Bros. did not respond to a request for comment.

From Quiet Conversations to Organized Action

The campaign gained traction through guerrilla organizing tactics modeled after the Amazon Staten Island union victory. For weeks, PA organizers pitched a tent outside a Warner Bros. parking lot, arriving as early as 4:45 a.m. and staying until 8 p.m., greeting crew members as they came and went.

Clad in scrubs — The Pitt’s unofficial on-set uniform — workers stopped by the tent to chat, sign petitions, and learn more about the effort.

“It was slow at first,” said organizer Clio Byrne-Gudding. “But by day two, people were approaching us. We started seeding support through crew conversations when we couldn’t be on set.”

By July 16, organizers had secured what they call a “supermajority” of signed authorization cards, making them confident they could win a formal union election if necessary. Still, they hope producers will voluntarily recognize the union to avoid a lengthy NLRB process.

Eyes on the Industry

The move could ripple across Hollywood, where live-action scripted PAs remain one of the largest unrepresented labor pools in the business. While animation PAs have gained traction through The Animation Guild and commercial PAs through the Production Workers Guild Local 111, scripted TV and film remain a significant union gap.

Organizers say this is only the beginning.

On Friday, Production Assistants United released a letter of support from fellow entertainment unions and announced plans to expand their campaign beyond The Pitt to other Warner Bros. shows — and eventually, to studios across Los Angeles.

“In part, we knew this was inevitable,” Byrne-Gudding said. “There have been efforts to unionize PAs for decades — and now, those same people are showing up at our tent. This time, we’re organized. We’re ready. And we’re not going away.”

If successful, the campaign could represent a turning point for some of the most essential — and historically overlooked — workers in Hollywood.