The Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) agreed to a “last-minute request” to work with a federal mediator in contract negotiations with film and TV studios yesterday (July 11). The deadline to reach a fair deal remains unchanged at 11:59pm Pacific Time today (July 12).
The union already extended the negotiation timeline once in late June, after 300 actors, including A-listers Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence, signed a letter urging union leaders not to settle for a mediocre deal, and expressing their willingness to strike. Meanwhile, another Hollywood work stoppage—the one organized by the writers’ union—has been underway for two months now, with no end in sight yet. The last time actors’ and writers’ strikes overlapped was in 1960.
Both unions are making similar demands to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which includes legacy film companies such as Disney as well as streaming companies like Netflix: better compensation on streaming platforms that don’t come with royalty payments like TV, and protection from artificial intelligence (AI), among other things.
Quotable: SAG-AFTRA is not confident about getting a fair deal
“We are committed to the negotiating process and will explore and exhaust every possible opportunity to make a deal, however we are not confident that the employers have any intention of bargaining toward an agreement.”—SAG-AFTRA’s July 11 statement on Tuesday evening
SAG-AFTRA protest, by the digits
160,000: Number of SAG-AFTRA members, including actors, broadcast journalists, announcers, hosts, stunt performers, and other media professionals
98%: Yes vote on SAG-AFTRA’s strike authorization on June 7, when the union began negotiations. Over 65,000 votes were cast
12 days: How long the contracts, due to expire on June 30, were extended for to “keep bargaining in good faith,” according to Los Angeles local president Jodi Long, an actor seen most recently in Netflix series Dash & Lily
1,000+: Signatories on the letter 300 actors wrote to SAG-AFTRA leadership. Stars like Charlize Theron, Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, and Rooney Mara added their names to the list
76%: Increase in foreign streaming residuals for projects produced for the largest studios and streaming platforms in the three-year deal for the Director’s Guild of America (DGA)—the only union to ratify an agreement with AMPTP without striking so far this year
6 months: the duration of the longest SAG strike in history, which happened in was in 2000 over commercial actors’ residual pay for television and radio ads, and pre-dated the 2012 SAG-AFTRA merger.
What will the SAG-AFTRA strike look like?
A SAG-AFTRA strike risks bringing most parts of the Hollywood business to halt, “including auditions, publicity and promotional activities, entering into agreements for future work and, of course, rendering performances for covered work,” the union wrote on its website. Does that mean no more press junkets for tentpole releases like Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part 1, Barbie, and Oppenheimer? Quite possibly, yes.
The Emmy Awards may be delayed by months. This year’s San Diego Comic-Con would see much less action, since several studios have already pulled panels. Disney’s Haunted Mansion July 15 Disneyland premier may proceed, but without the red carpet press line.
The writers’ guild has already brought production in Hollywood to a halt. But an actors’ strike would have far-reaching consequences, geographically speaking. Shows that have managed to soldier on with shooting in the UK and other parts of Europe, such as House of the Dragon and Andor, won’t be able to do so with a striking cast. Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part Two’s shoot would plunge into a limbo as the first part hits the screens.
Fun fact: Who’s still cashing in
Former president Donald Trump resigned from the SAG-AFTRA board just as they were debating ousting him over the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill insurrection in 2021. But the former host of The Apprentice is not done with the union entirely, as he’s still cashing checks.
According to filings released earlier this year, in 2022 Trump took a pension from the Screen Actor’s Guild valued at between $100,000 and $1 million, and a pension from the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists valued at between $15,000 and $50,000. (The arrangements predate the 2012 merger.)
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