Apple claimed its TV+ service had less than 20 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada as of July, allowing it to pay behind-the-scenes production crew lower rates than streamers with more subscriptions, according to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, a union that represents TV and movie workers who perform jobs like operating cameras and building sets.

Apple has never revealed subscriber numbers for its Apple TV+ streaming service, which launched in the fall of 2019. Analysts are reluctant to offer estimates, but many say that its scale pales in comparison to services like Netflix, which claimed 209 million subscribers as of Q2, and Disney+, which claimed 116 million.

Apple, the most valued publicly traded company worldwide, can offer a discount rate. This highlights the problems facing Hollywood workers. It is also raising the ire of union members considering striking for higher wages and better working conditions.

The current agreement allows high-budget streaming productions to offer workers lower rates if they have less than 20,000,000 subscribers in Canada and the U.S. Apple stated to IATSE that the union has less than 20,000,000 subscribers.

The union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are currently in discussions over a new contract. Apple is a member the alliance but it negotiates on behalf of all its members and does not create special deals for certain companies according to an industry spokesperson.

A spokesperson for Apple declined to discuss subscriber numbers, but stated that the company charges rates comparable with other streaming service providers.

According to CNBC, the existing contract states that productions for streaming are subjected to less labor rules than movies or TV programs. This is because the streaming market’s profitability is currently uncertain and requires more flexibility.

Union leaders claim that streaming media is not new and that companies who bankroll it should be paid rates comparable to those for traditional media productions.

“Workers on certain ‘new media’ streaming projects get paid less, even on productions with budgets that rival or exceed those of traditionally released blockbusters,” an IATSE press release said this week, noting that negotiations had stalled.

IATSE is gearing up for a strike, its spokesman said, and ballots allowing the union’s 150,000 members to authorize a strike will be sent out on October 1.

The union spokesperson stated that while new media pay rates is one issue currently being discussed, it’s the main concern regarding working conditions, such as long work hours and poor working conditions, which has gotten worse since the Covid-19 pandemic. Celebrities and actors have started To post social media messages supporting the IATSE union, and a possible strike.

Apple has reportedly spent up to $15 million per episode of shows like “The Morning Show” to try and bulk up its service with premium content. Apple also bundled free trials with the purchase of new phones or tablets, and those trials started expiring in July, forcing many users to decide whether it was worth $4.99 per month. Apple sold an estimated 206,000,000 iPhones in 2020 worldwide, which is a huge number of trials.

NBCUniversal’s Peacock, ViacomCBS Paramount+ have less than 20 million subscribers. This allows them to request labor discounts, a union spokesperson said.

ViacomCBS spokespeople said that the streaming data for Paramount+ is not broken out. NBCUniversal did not respond to our request for comment at publication time.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal owns Peacock and is CNBC’s parent company.