Film Career · Transportation
Teamster Driver (Picture Car Driver)
Transportation · Teamsters
- Union
- Teamsters
- Day rate
- ~$70K–$150K+/yr
- Experience
- Entry level
What does a Teamster Driver do?
Teamster drivers move everything the production owns or rents, including the picture cars, which travel by transport or trailer under a driver's care. When an owner rents a car to a production, a teamster typically picks it up and returns it. Off-camera vehicle moves on set belong to this crew.
What does a Teamster Driver make?
- Hourly scale about $44.66 (auto and van) rising toward $50-$56 for special equipment and captains, an effective day of about $450-$750, roughly $70K-$150K+ a year.
- Drivers make their money on overtime and guaranteed long days, so effective annual far exceeds the base hourly.
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
On the job
- Drive and position production vehicles from trucks to trailers
- Transport picture cars safely between owners, staging, and set
- Execute on-set vehicle moves outside of camera performance
- Maintain logs, inspections, and the care of valuable cargo
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You are a skilled, licensed driver who can hit a precise mark
- You know vehicle handling and safety on set
Soft skills
- You are reliable and comfortable with long days
- You like being part of a crew
Career progression
Drivers advance by equipment class and trust: bigger rigs, specialty transports, and picture car duty, then toward captain and coordinator chairs. Steady drivers become fixtures of a market's production ecosystem.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
- Teamster Driver (Picture Car Driver)you are here· 3-6 yrs
~$70K–$150K+/yr
- Transportation Captain· 3-5 yrs
~$70K–$300K+/yr
- Transportation Coordinator· peak of the craft
~$150K–$300K+/yr
How do you become a Teamster Driver?
Commercial licenses matched to your market's equipment are the ticket in; the Teamsters local and its production roster are the door. Picture car transport favors drivers with demonstrated care for high-value vehicles.
On covered productions, rates, hours, and conditions for the role are set by Teamsters contracts.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.
For productions
Sourcing picture cars for a production?
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