As Netflix and Paramount began their fight for control of Warner Bros. this week, each sought to reassure the creative community that the outcome will mean more content and more jobs.

But Hollywood union leaders have seen that movie before, and have every reason to be skeptical.

“We’ve seen in the past how these mergers have impacted workers,” says Lindsay Dougherty, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 399. “It’s never been good. It’s never created jobs. We have never seen the benefit for working people.”

Netflix’s deal to buy Warner Bros. follows a brutal five-year stretch for the entertainment business, which has been buffeted by the pandemic, two strikes and an unshakable slump in global production. So when the deal was announced on Dec. 5, few were disposed to be optimistic

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