Drescher accused the AMPTP of refusing to “meaningfully engage” on some topics and stonewalling on others, while the AMPTP said the failure to compromise was “the union’s choice, not ours.” The AMPTP claimed that SAG-AFTRA left “our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses, and more” on the table. A federal mediator joined negotiations for just one business day, on Wednesday.īy Wednesday night, the two sides had failed to reach a deal, leading SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating committee to unanimously recommend a strike to its National Board. “We will not be distracted from negotiating in good faith to secure a fair and just deal by the expiration of our agreement,” the union said in a strongly worded statement. Late Tuesday evening, SAG-AFTRA agreed to this plan, but did not accept extending the talks any further than July 12. on July 12.īut in recent days, SAG-AFTRA set a number of strike preparations into motion, getting in touch with major PR firms and hundreds of agents to reveal potential strike rules, and the AMPTP reached out to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to intervene in talks. In late June, top SAG-AFTRA negotiators told members that they were making progress during “ extremely productive” discussions with the entertainment companies, and on June 30 both management and labor decided to extend negotiations eight more business days, to 11:59 p.m. Responding to an especially tight time frame in which to negotiate their sprawling TV/theatrical contracts (their current pact initially expired June 30, then was extended to July 12), nearly 98 percent of voting members of the union authorized their leaders to call a strike if deemed necessary.ĭuring their own negotiations with the AMPTP, the industry’s writers never made a deal, resulting in a strike, while the Directors Guild of America did reach an agreement that was ratified by its membership. The last of the major entertainment unions to enter labor negotiations with entertainment companies in the spring and summer of this year, SAG-AFTRA walked into their talks with the AMPTP on June 7 with a strike authorization vote in hand. SAG wanted to get ahead of what it believed would be lucrative market (SAG merged with AFTRA in 2012). When actors went on a 95-day strike in July 1980, they pushed for a system of profit-sharing to get a percentage of revenue from home media releases. It will be SAG-AFTRA’s first strike against film and television companies in four decades. “A strike is certainly not the outcome we hoped for as studios cannot operate without the performers that bring our TV shows and films to life.” “The AMPTP presented a deal that offered historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, and a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses for SAG-AFTRA members,” the studios said. The studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, released a talking points memo in response, along with a statement that said it proposed a substantive offer. If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble, we are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines,” she said. This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. “The entire business model has been changed by streaming, digital, AI. It’s disgusting, shame on them.”ĭrescher also spoke about the impasse surrounding the use of artificial intelligence and portrayed the union as taking a stand for all of labor against big corporations. How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right while giving millions to CEOs. I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things. I am shocked by the way the people we have been in business with are treating us. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. ![]() We had no choice,” the SAG-AFTRA president said in a fiery speech. ![]() “It came with great sadness that we came to this crossroads. ![]() Writers Guild Tells Members That Studios May Not Be Serious About Restarting Talks to Make a Dealĭrescher added of the studios’ offer, “there was nothing there, it was insulting,” and said the union would be rejecting “incremental changes” on its contract with film and TV producers.
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