Relating to the protection of workers in the Texas entertainment industry to accept employment in union and non-union productions without fear of retaliation, blacklisting, or loss of union membership.
HB 5227, called the Creative Rights and Employment Access in Texas Entertainment (CREATE) Act, would create new labor protections for workers in Texas’s entertainment industry. The bill prohibits unions from denying employment, blacklisting, fining, revoking membership, or otherwise penalizing workers who take non-union jobs in film, television, commercials, digital media, and related entertainment production. It also bars employers, producers, and studios from requiring exclusive union hiring as a condition of operating in Texas, and makes any contrary policy, rule, or agreement unenforceable in the state.
The bill also creates a civil enforcement mechanism. The attorney general could sue unions for violations and recover civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, along with costs and fees, with penalties deposited into the general revenue fund. Separately, workers harmed by retaliation or discrimination could bring civil actions for damages, injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees. The bill would take effect September 1, 2025.
HB 5227 would amend the Labor Code by adding a new subchapter on entertainment workers’ right to work and by creating a new retaliation cause of action for entertainment employment. It would also amend the Government Code provisions governing state-supported moving image production grants by adding a new union-related documentation requirement and by conditioning grant eligibility on proof that union agreements do not restrict non-union hiring or punish union members for taking non-union work on state-supported projects. In practical terms, the bill would affect unions, entertainment employers, production companies, and workers in Texas’s film, television, commercial, music, video game, and digital media sectors.
Based on the bill’s text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the overall sentiment appears to be strongly pro-worker and pro-access to employment, with an emphasis on protecting individual choice to work union or non-union jobs. The bill is framed as preventing retaliation and blacklisting, suggesting support from those favoring labor mobility and production flexibility. No formal opposition or recorded vote pattern is available in the provided context.
The main point of contention is likely the bill’s impact on union authority and collective bargaining in the entertainment industry. The measure would limit unions’ ability to enforce membership rules or impose discipline tied to accepting non-union work, and it would make contrary agreements unenforceable in Texas. Another likely point of dispute is the grant-eligibility requirement that production companies disclose union contracts and ensure they do not restrict non-union hiring, which could be viewed by critics as state interference in private labor agreements. Supporters would likely emphasize worker freedom and anti-retaliation protections, while opponents would likely argue that the bill weakens union protections and could complicate production labor arrangements.