SAG-AFTRA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have not yet reached a deal on a new TV/theatrical labor contract and will pause talks to allow the studios to begin negotiations with the Writers Guild of America this week.
The actors guild and studio labor reps said in a joint statement Sunday evening that they plan to resume talks later this spring prior to the expiration of the existing mutual bargaining agreement on June 30.
“SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP completed productive bargaining sessions, including going several days beyond what was originally planned. While we will continue ongoing conversations, formal negotiations will resume later this spring as planned, before the current contract expires June 30,” the statement read.
“We thank both negotiating committees for their shared commitment to reaching a fair deal and their thoughtful engagement, including over this entire weekend. We will continue to respect the press blackout and will provide an update in the coming months,” it continued.
SAG-AFTRA began its negotiations with the AMPTP on February 9 in a rare instance of being the first union to enter talks with the studios rather than the Writers or Directors Guilds. The WGA will begin talks this week ahead of the May 1 expiration date on its mutual bargaining agreement, with the DGA set to begin talks on May 11.
Greg Hessinger, former executive director of the Screen Actors Guild, is serving as chief negotiator of AMPTP for the first time after succeeding former AMPTP head Carol Lombardini. The SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee is led by president Sean Astin, executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and chief contracts officer Ray Rodriguez.
As with the 2023 negotiations, which led to a 118-day strike, AI and streaming compensation are core issues for this contract cycle. On the AI front, SAG-AFTRA was expected to make the issue of “synthetic performers,” AI-generated actors, a key issue.
While the guild had already negotiated language in the 2023 contract that dictates that productions must notify SAG-AFTRA if it wishes to use a synthetic performer in a role that could be taken by a union performer, the guild was expected to propose a clause similar to one added to its commercial and record label clauses requiring productions to pay the guild the equivalent of whatever salary it would have given to a performer for work done by an AI replacement.
SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP are also expected to make modifications to the streaming compensation fund the two sides launched this past September, which the guild hopes to build into a sufficient replacement for declining TV residuals that often serve as a financial safety net for working class actors.
