The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) negotiating committee has voted unanimously to recommend a strike in a move that could incapacitate Hollywood productions.
The current SAG-AFTRA contract expired at 11:59 p.m. PT Wednesday. The contract was originally going to expire on June 30 but was extended after SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) reached an agreement.
The union’s National Board will vote Thursday morning, July 13, on whether to strike — on the heels of an ongoing Writers Guild of America strike that began on May 2.
“Hollywood must be a place where every worker, on-screen and off, is treated according to the value their skills and talents command,” International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Teamsters, Hollywood Basic Crafts, the Directors Guild of America (DGA), the Writers Guild of America East and the Writers Guild of America West said in their statement.
The group added, “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…to prevent mega-corporations from eroding the conditions we fought decades to achieve.”
In June, 98% of members agreed to authorize a strike if an agreement isn’t reached, SAG-AFTRA said.
For its part, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers expressed it was “deeply disappointed” in the decision, adding, “This is the Union’s choice, not ours.”
The Alliance continued in part, “In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses, and more.”
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