Final Vote Called As Negotiators Issue Statement

The Screen Actors Guild has reached the end of its negotiating period with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, thus settling whether its members will go on strike. Since the start of May, the Writers Guild of America has been on strike following stalled negotiations with the AMPTP, and SAG-AFTRA has found itself in a similar situation in recent weeks. Negotiations were extended to last night and concluded at midnight PT.

Now, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland issue a statement recommending an actors strike, with the final vote to authorize set for this morning. Should the National Board vote to authorize, all ongoing productions will be suspended, and actors will not be allowed to promote upcoming projects in interviews or at events such as San Diego Comic-Con. Read an excerpt of the statement below:

From the time negotiations began on June 7, the members of our Negotiating Committee and our staff team have spent many long days, weekends and holidays working to achieve a deal that protects you, the working actors and performers on whom this industry relies. As you know, over the past decade, your compensation has been severely eroded by the rise of the streaming ecosystem. Furthermore, artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to creative professions, and all actors and performers deserve contract language that protects them from having their identity and talent exploited without consent and pay. Despite our team’s dedication to advocating on your behalf, the AMPTP has refused to acknowledge that enormous shifts in the industry and economy have had a detrimental impact on those who perform labor for the studios.Though we’ve engaged in negotiations in good faith and remained eager to reach a deal that sufficiently addressed performer concerns, the AMPTP’s responses to our proposals have not been adequate.

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Source: SAG-AFTRA