SAG-AFTRA and Studios to Resume Negotiations

Nearly two weeks after walking away from negotiations, Hollywood studios and actors are headed back to the table to resume discussions. On Saturday, The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) confirmed (via Variety) that talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) are set to resume on Tuesday. According to the actors’ union negotiating committee, the request to resume talks comes from top studio leaders. Talks had broken down previously on October 11th.

“It is clear that the strength and solidarity shown by our members has sent an unmistakable message to the CEOs. As we have repeatedly said, we are ready, willing, and able to engage on a moment’s notice to meet and to work across the table to achieve a deal that is worthy of your sacrifice,” the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee wrote.

In a joint statement, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP confirmed that that the talks were indeed set to resume on Tuesday.

“SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP will meet for bargaining on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at SAG-AFTRA Plaza. Several executives from AMPTP member companies will be in attendance,” the statement read.

What’s Going On With the SAG-AFTRA Strike?

The SAG-AFTRA strike started in August, with the union seeking a deal to address many of the same issues already tackled in studio deals with the Director’s Guild of America (DGA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the latter of which was on strike earlier this year. Among those issues are concerns about royalty and residual payments as well as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on the part of the studios to reduce labor costs.

“We have negotiated with them in good faith, despite the fact that last week they presented an offer that was, shockingly, worth less than they proposed before the strike began,” SAG-AFTRA told the membership (via Variety). “These companies refuse to protect performers from being replaced by AI, they refuse to increase your wages to keep up with inflation, and they refuse to share a tiny portion of the immense revenue YOUR work generates for them.”

SAG-AFTRA Recently Released Guidelines About Halloween Costumes — And Received Backlash

On Wednesday, a post on SAG-AFTRA’s website recommended that union members “celebrate Halloween this year while also staying in solidarity” with the strike, advising against sharing pictures of costumes on social media that pay tribute to struck movies and television shows.

Instead, SAG-AFTRA recommends that members “choose costumes inspired by generalized characters and figures (ghost, zombie, spider, etc)”, and “dress up as characters from non-struck content, like an animated TV show.”

The guidelines were met with a little bit of backlash about their initial statement, which led them to clarify the guidelines.

“SAG-AFTRA issued Halloween guidance in response to questions from content creators and members about how to support the strike during this festive season,” the statement from the Guild spokesperson reads. “This was meant to help them avoid promoting struck work, and it is the latest in a series of guidelines we have issued. It does not apply to anyone’s kids. We are on strike for important reasons and have been for nearly 100 days. Our number one priority remains getting the studios back to the negotiating table so we can get a fair deal for our members, and finally put our industry back to work.”