Negotiators for the striking SAG-AFTRA actors union and Hollywood studios convened on Monday, marking the first meeting since the actors went on strike in mid-July. The labor talks are scheduled to resume on Wednesday.
In a joint statement issued on Monday evening, both sides confirmed that they had a productive full day meeting, but no specific details were disclosed.
Prior to the meeting, SAG-AFTRA leaders posted on social media, stating “Today, we return to the bargaining table to fight for the contract that you deserve. Keep showing your full support on our picket lines and at solidarity events across the country. Let the AMPTP hear your voices loud and clear.”
Last week, the union announced its decision to resume talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the body representing the studios. The negotiations took place on Monday with several AMPTP executives reportedly attending. SAG-AFTRA promised to directly inform its members of any substantial updates as the negotiations progress.
It remains uncertain whether the so-called “Gang of Four” studio executives, namely Donna Langley from NBCUniversal, David Zaslav from Warner Bros Discovery, Ted Sarandos from Netflix, and Bob Iger from Disney, were present during Monday’s talks held at the SAG-AFTRA headquarters in the Mid-Wilshire area. These executives were involved in at least some of the final negotiating sessions that led to a tentative contract deal with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) union.
The WGA strike officially ended at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday after the union leaders on both coasts endorsed the tentative contract agreement. The union members have begun voting on the ratification of the contract, a process that will continue until next Monday.
The WGA strike started on May 2, with actors joining in mid-July. Both labor actions caused a complete halt to the entertainment industry, as actors and writers picketed daily in front of major Hollywood studios.
While negotiators for the WGA and AMPTP worked towards their tentative deal, SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP did not engage in official talks until the actors’ strike began in July.
SAG-AFTRA, which represents around 160,000 actors, has a number of demands, including wage increases, safeguards against the use of artificial intelligence for actor images, improved compensation for successful streaming programs, and better health and retirement benefits.
The WGA-AMPTP deal includes stepped increases in minimum salaries, with a 5% jump upon ratification, followed by 4% in May 2024, and 3.5% in May 2025. Additionally, there are provisions for increased health and pension contributions.
The proposed WGA contract also places restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence by studios, preventing AI from writing or rewriting literary material and disqualifying AI-generated content from being considered source material, ensuring that it does not diminish a writer’s credit.
The contract also introduces a new residual formula for streaming programs, which provides higher pay for highly successful programs. It includes pay increases for writers working on TV series and guarantees of employment for a specific number of writers based on the number of episodes being produced.
While certain aspects of the writers’ deal may serve as a reference for negotiations with actors, SAG-AFTRA’s demands differ in certain areas, particularly the level of wage increases sought.
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