What do you get when you cross a school of sharks with a tornado? A labor dispute. As a joke, that needs some fine-tuning, but it’s an apt description of the current status of Syfy’s Sharknado 3, which ran into a production snag this week when 30 to 40 crew members declared a work stoppage. Deadline reports the crew members are seeking a labor contract with representation under the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, a move that would secure them health and pension benefits. The crew on the second installment of Syfy’s schlock sensation had such an IATSE contract, but the latest Sharknado was hit by a whirling column of non-union workers.
Picketers circled Tuesday in front of The Asylum, the Hollywood-based production company behind Sharknado 3. A spokeswoman for Syfy deferred to The Asylum for comment, and a spokeswoman for the production company did not immediately respond to questions. There’s no word on how the strike will affect the film’s planned July premiere date, but it will presumably hasten plans for the recently cast Mark Cuban and Ann Coulter to have a long, strident conversation about organized labor and Ayn Rand.