After an extended weekend break, SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are heading back to the negotiating table. Monday, members of the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee confirmed the two sides would meet again on Tuesday, October 31st. In messaging sent to union membership, the negotiating committee went on to caution the two sides are “far apart” on several key issues at the root of the actors’ strike.
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“The committee worked independently today. We will be meeting with the AMPTP Tuesday,” SAG-AFTRA officials told members (via THR). “While talks over the past week have been productive, we remain far apart on key issues.”
The negotiating committee added, “Please help us keep pressure on the AMPTP by showing up on the picket lines, raising your voices at rallies across the country and by posting messages of support and strength on social media.”
It’s likely the use of artificial intelligence remains one of the key issues SAG-AFTRA officials are battling, with the continued desire from studios to use the technology on an increasingly frequent basis.
The last time the groups met at the table earlier this month, SAG-AFTRA officials say they were presented with one of their lowest offers of the strike.
“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.”
“The companies are using the same failed strategy they tried to inflict on the WGA – putting out misleading information in an attempt to fool our members into abandoning our solidarity and putting pressure on our negotiators,” the union told Variety. “But, just like the writers, our members are smarter than that and will not be fooled.”
As of this writing, the actors’ strike has been underway for 109 days. The 2023 WGA strike, which ended earlier this month, lasted 148 days before an agreement was reached between the writers’ guild and AMPTP.
