Disney CEO Bob Iger: WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strike Demands Are "Not Realistic"
The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger says Hollywood's demands in the ongoing WGA strike and the imminent SAG-AFTRA strike are "not realistic" and will have a "very, very damaging effect on the whole business." Just one day after the executive renewed his contract to extend his stay at the helm of Disney through 2026, Iger appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box on Thursday morning — just hours after talks broke down between the actors' union and the studios. (In a statement, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said that the union was "eager to reach a deal that sufficiently addressed performer needs," but the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers responses to those demands "have been insulting and disrespectful of our massive contributions to this industry.")
"It's very disturbing to me. We've talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we're facing, the recovery from COVID which is ongoing, it's not completely back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption," Iger told CNBC's David Faber at Idaho's Sun Valley Conference. "I understand any labor organization's desire to work on behalf of its members to get the most compensation and be compensated fairly based on the value that they deliver. We managed, as an industry, to negotiate a very good deal with the directors guild that reflects the value that the directors contribute to this great business."
Iger continued: "We wanted to do the same thing with the writers, and we'd like to do the same thing with the actors. There's a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive."
Members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike since May. On Thursday, SAG-AFTRA's national board is expected to meet to call an actors' strike. With both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA on the picket lines, the major Hollywood studios will face their first dual work stoppage since 1960.
The dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike "will have a very, very damaging effect on the whole business," Iger elaborated. "And unfortunately, there's huge collateral damage in the industry to people who are supportive services. I could go on and on. It will affect the economy of different regions, even, because of the sheer size of the business. It's a shame, it is really a shame."
In June, the actors' union said its primary bargaining issues include "economic fairness, residuals, regulating the use of artificial intelligence and alleviating the burdens of the industry-wide shift to self-taping."
"SAG-AFTRA is committed to ensuring our members are able to make a living performing in scripted dramatic live action entertainment," it said in a statement. "This means ensuring increased compensation when our members work, shoring up the funding of our Health, Retirement, and Pension Plans, and providing our members a meaningful share of the economic value created by their performances."
On Thursday morning, Drescher said that SAG-AFTRA "negotiated in good faith and was eager to reach a deal that sufficiently addressed performer needs, but the AMPTP's responses to the union's most important proposals have been insulting and disrespectful of our massive contributions to this industry." According to Drescher, "The companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us. Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal."
In response, the AMPTP — an employer group that represents Disney and the major Hollywood studios, including Warner Bros., Netflix, Apple, and Amazon — said it was disappointed that talks broke down after union's contract officially expired at midnight on July 13th.
"We are deeply disappointed that SAG-AFTRA has decided to walk away from negotiations," the AMPTP said in a release. "This is the Union's choice, not ours. 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. Rather than continuing to negotiate, SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods."
The AMPTP's response comes after an anonymous Hollywood executive reportedly told Deadline that the "endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses." Other sources, also speaking under the condition of anonymity, called the strategy a "cruel but necessary evil" and said that the studios are determined to "break the WGA," which has been on strike for 73 days and counting.
