It appears that there is a real possibility of a strike by members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) if their leadership cannot reach a new labor contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. This weekend, members of SAG-AFTRA have volunteered their time to prepare picket signs in case a strike becomes necessary.
On its Twitter page, SAG-AFTRA showed dozens of members assembling signs at union headquarters, writing in its caption Friday, “If a strike becomes necessary, we’re ready.”
In late April, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went through a similar process of constructing picket signs before calling a strike in May 2023. The writers have been since then. On the other hand, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) had picket sign-building events before their contract deadline in fall 2021, but they ultimately reached a last-minute deal with the studios.
Currently, SAG-AFTRA and the studios are in negotiations, and a media blackout is in place. The negotiations, which were initially set to conclude on June 30, have been extended to July 12.
SAG-AFTRA’s president, Fran Drescher, and national executive director, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, expressed optimism about the progress of talks in a video message.
“I just want to assure you that we are having extremely productive negotiations that are laser-focused on all of the crucial issues you told us are most important to you,” Drescher said in the video. “And we’re standing strong and we’re going to achieve a seminal deal.”
However, a letter signed by over 2,000 SAG-AFTRA members, including prominent actors like Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence, urged the negotiating committee not to settle for a deal they deem inadequate.
REELated:
“We feel that our wages, our craft, our creative freedom and the power of our union have all been undermined in the last decade. We need to reverse those trajectories,” the letter read. “We want you to know that we would rather go on strike than compromise on these fundamental points, and we believe that, if we settle for a less than transformative deal, the future of our union and our craft will be undermined, and SAG-AFTRA will enter the next negotiation with drastically reduced leverage.”
Some key sticking points in the negotiations include a new residual structure for streaming, with SAG-AFTRA and the WGA advocating for streaming residuals to be tied to viewership data. The Directors Guild of America (DGA) recently ratified a contract that included increases in residual payments but did not address viewership-based residuals.
Both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have stated that they are not bound by the terms agreed upon by the DGA.
If a strike were to occur, it would be the first time since 1960 that two Hollywood guilds are on strike simultaneously. It would lead to the shutdown of remaining productions and impact marketing events, film premieres, and awards ceremonies, such as the Emmys.
