While the Writers Guild of America (WGA) moves into its 73rd day of the strike, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has just been building up momentum for the same. The SAG-AFTRA strike is imminent soon. On the night of July 12, 2023, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the Actors’ Union met for a meeting, and their meeting managed to make situations much more complicated than before.
These SAG-AFTRA negotiations did not end well, and after they broke, murmurings of the strike became more solidified. Actors and Writers alike are now expected to start their own picket lines. While their 2020 TV/Theatrical contracts were supposed to expire on July 1, 2023, at 11:59 PM PT, they were extended till July 12, 2023, 11:59 PM PT because of the ongoing negotiations at the time. The Union had already gotten together a while before that and decided that if their demands weren’t met, they would go on strike.
When Did the SAG-AFTRA Strike Proposition Take Root?
Back in June, when the WGA strike was going on in full swing, the Union took stock of their situation. Nearly 65,000 of the approximately 160,000 members approved a strike authorisation, with 97.91% ‘yes’ votes for the same. This guild includes actors, dancers, DJs, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists, and other media professionals. Two days after this decision, on June 7, 2023, the AMPTP entered negotiations with the guild. The AMPTP also includes streaming service giants as well, like Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. Discovery.
What are the SAG-AFTRA Strike Demands?
The Union is demanding increased minimum pay rates, increased streaming residuals, better working conditions and a way to make royalties relevant once again. Since the streaming model prioritises shorter seasons over longer periods of time, the actors are running out of jobs and opportunities, and they plan to protest against that as well. Like the WGA Strike, the guild is also trying to focus on the artificial intelligence aspect of this whole ordeal.
Given that AI has become capable enough to generate content and digital likenesses, they are trying to include some kind of regulation, giving the studios certain rules within which they can operate. The contract ended without any concrete deal, so the Union is likely to go on strike soon, giving solidarity to the Writers’ Strike in a whole new different way.
What Does the AMPTP Have to Say About the SAG-AFTRA Strikes?
While they had made their positions clear in the negotiations, members of the guild were not happy with the response they had received and broke off negotiations on opposing terms. Since then, the AMPTP has shared a statement regarding the same, saying that they’re unhappy with the way the negotiations proceeded. Their statement also shared that they had offered historical pay and residual increases, higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods and other benefits, but the guild refused.
The alliance has thrown the ball in the Union’s court, noting that the latter had walked away from negotiations rather than the former doing anything. They are saddened that these rifts will deepen the financial hardships of these people who depend on this industry as their livelihood.
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What Happened to the WGA Strike?
The actors guild may just be getting ready for the strike, but the WGA has been striking since May, when their negotiations with the alliance ended sourly too. Many projects have since been on halt, including network television, which has been running re-runs of their past episodes in accordance with the writers striking. For now, there are no open negotiations or any kind of end in sight for these writers who are there on the picket line.
Some anonymous sources from the big studios had mentioned that they want the strike to run its course and not get into any negotiations until fall, knowing that the writers will ‘go broke’ and will be forced to accept any deal they are offered because of homelessness and lack of steady income. However, the AMPTP has publicly denied any talk like this, noting that that the anonymous individuals do not speak for the alliance.
What do you think will come of this strike? Will the writers and the actors guild be able to negotiate a good deal? Let us know in the comments below.
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