A federal mediator will be present on Wednesday for negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the major studios, as the performers’ contract is set to expire at midnight.
The two sides agreed Tuesday to seek mediation in a last-ditch effort to avert a strike, which has come to seem all but inevitable in recent days.
If no deal is reached, the SAG-AFTRA national board is expected to hold a meeting on Thursday to approve a walkout. The union represents 160,000 performers, who would join the Writers Guild of America on the picket lines outside the major studios.
On Tuesday, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers proposed calling in the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to help broker an agreement. Later in the day, SAG-AFTRA accepted the proposal, but also called it a “cynical ploy” to get a contract extension. The union did agree to a 12-day extension on June 30, but has all but ruled out extending the contract for a second time.
Relations between the two sides have become especially acrimonious in the last few days. The parties remain at odds over several issues, including streaming residuals and increases in minimum rates. In its statement on Tuesday, the union said that the AMPTP “abused our trust and damaged the respect we have for them in this process.”
Greg Raelson, a spokesman for the FMCS, said Wednesday that the agency has been monitoring the situation for “some time” and has been in touch with both the employers and the union.
“As with many national-impact collective bargaining conflicts, a highly qualified, senior mediator has been requested and dispatched to provide mediation services. The mediator will be present at today’s negotiations,” Raelson said. “FMCS remains prepared and committed to helping both parties constructively resolve their dispute.”
The union membership voted 98% in support of a strike authorization in early June. Echoing concerns raised by the WGA, SAG-AFTRA members have said that the transition to streaming has made it increasingly difficult for actors to earn a living wage and sustain a career.
The union has also sought robust protections against artificial intelligence, seeking both consent and pay for any use of actors’ likenesses by AI. The union also wants regulations around training of AI systems and self-taped auditions, as well as support for the pension and health funds.
Also Wednesday, SAG-AFTRA’s fellow entertainment industry unions — IATSE, WGA, DGA, Teamsters issued a statement of support, urging the AMPTP companies to reach a deal.
“Hollywood must be a place where every worker, on-screen and off, is treated according to the
value their skills and talents command. While the studios have collective worth of trillions of
dollars, billions of viewers globally, and sky-high profits, this fight is not about actors against the
studios, but rather about workers across all crafts and departments in the industry standing
together to prevent mega-corporations from eroding the conditions we fought decades to achieve,” the statement read. “We recognize the actors have taken the step of voting in favor of strike authorization, arming SAG-AFTRA leadership with the authority to call a strike if the studios do not address
performers’ unique priorities. As their current agreement is set to expire on July 12, 2023, we call
on the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to immediately
acknowledge the contributions of performers and negotiate a suitable contract with their union.”
