SAG-AFTRA Says Studios’ ‘Final’ Offer Still Doesn’t Meet Needs on ‘Essential’ Strike Items, ‘Including AI’
SAG-AFTRA released a new memo to members of the actors union Monday announcing that its negotiating committee has sent a response to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers about the studios’ “best, last and final” offer presented to them on Saturday.
“Please know every member of our TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee is determined to secure the right deal and thereby bring this strike to an end responsibly,” the statement read. “There are several essential items on which we still do not have an agreement, including AI. We will keep you informed as events unfold.”
Despite the seeming ultimatum sent by the AMPTP during a brief Saturday virtual meeting in which all of its member CEOs were on hand to present SAG-AFTRA with their proposal, insiders tell TheWrap that there is still hope that negotiations on a new deal could continue. But it is unclear whether they would take place this evening or on Tuesday, if the two sides even agreed to do so. TheWrap has reached out to the AMPTP for comment.
The SAG-AFTRA negotiating commitee spent all of Sunday, working until midnight, pouring over the hundreds of pages in the AMPTP proposed contract, which covers labor issues for more than 160,000 actors guild members. According to a studio insider, the AMPTP’s offer includes “full” protections regarding the use of AI technology, as well as a 100% hike in compensation on high-budget streaming productions for both episodic television and feature films, as well as increases in health and pension plan contributions.
While those deliberations took place among the guild’s inner circle, the SAG-AFTRA rank-and-file was back out in force on the studio picket lines for the strike’s 116th day. At the Warner Bros. picket in Burbank, guild members carried signs and shouted chants decrying the studios’ “final” offer approach, seeing it as an attempt to pressure the negotiating committee into accepting an unsatisfactory deal.
The current actors’ strike is the longest ever staged against a TV/theatrical contract in industry history. Combined with the WGA strike which lasted 146 days, Hollywood’s work stoppage has cost an estimated 45,000 production jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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