SAG-AFTRA strike set to happen as final vote looms

After deliberations, threats and deadline extensions, SAG-AFTRA has moved to vote on a strike that could hand another blow to the industry, adding to the ongoing effects of the Writers Guild of America strike, now in its second month. The official decision will be made later this morning when the National Board will meet.

This morning, not long after the contract deadline expired, SAG-AFTRA issued a statement on their website. Here is the statement in full:

Dear Member,

After more than four weeks of negotiations, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) — the entity that represents major studios and streamers, including Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros Discovery — remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on the key issues that you told us are important to you. Because of this, we’ve called for a meeting with our National Board this morning to vote on a strike order.

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.

We will update you immediately after the National Board’s vote and information will be provided on how the strike impacts your ability to work. Details on picket times and locations will be provided as well. Please check your inbox.

Our ninety-year history is a testament to what can be achieved through our conviction and unity. For the future of our profession, we stand together.

In unity,

Fran Drescher
President

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland
National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator

Things are going to be getting brutal in Hollywood if both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike at the same time. As one studio executive told Deadline regarding the current WGA strike, “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.” This puts the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in a particularly powerful position, something that does not bode well for the creatives in the industry. This deadlock seems to have no clear end in sight.

The news of a SAG-AFTRA strike comes just one day after the Primetime Emmy Award nominations were announced. If the strike extends into September, it’s extremely likely that a number of members will boycott the event, as happened in 1980. The only winner in attendance that year was Powers Boothe.

The SAG-AFTRA strike stems from numerous issues, including minimum wages, residuals related to streaming services and artificial intelligence, something that is a key reason for the current WGA strike. The union, which claims 160,000 members, most recently went on strike more than 20 years ago, with commercial actors at the forefront. Historically, SAG has rarely gone on strike in their nearly 80-year history. Of note, both SAG and the WGA went on strike in 1960 when Ronald Reagan was president of the former. In 2012, the Screen Actors Guild merged with American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to form SAG-AFTRA.

What are your thoughts on the SAG-AFTRA strike? What do you think the ultimate outcome will be for the ? Give us your thoughts and predictions in the comments section below.