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not finished yet. Leadership of the performers union SAG-AFTRA and the studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, issued a joint statement Monday saying talks have concluded for the day and outlining next steps as the strike approaches the three-month mark.
“SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP held and concluded negotiations for today. Negotiations will continue on Wednesday, October 11, with the parties working independently on Tuesday.”
The union led by Fran Drescher, which represents about 160,000 members, has been on strike since July 14. After a summer that saw film and television production halts and sit-ins in Los Angeles, New York and industry hubs across the country, the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA unions returned to the negotiating table on October 2 at the union’s headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.
At the time, the Writers Guild of America—whose 11,500 members went on strike on May 2, beginning a summer of standoffs—signed a tentative agreement with the AMPTP on September 24. The agreement, which touted gains made by members on controversial issues such as the use of artificial intelligence in scripts, transparency of viewership data and minimum staffing in television writers’ rooms, was approved by WGA members on Monday with 8,525 votes and 99 percent of clerks in favor. Convention.
Amid the strike, SAG-AFTRA members also reiterated their confidence in Drescher, who was re-elected to a two-year term as union president over challenger Maya Gilbert-Dunbar when votes were counted on September 8.
With the WGA dispute resolved, industry hopes have risen for an agreement between AMPTP, led by chief negotiator Carol Lombardini, and SAG-AFTRA, which Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is leading in deal talks. Meanwhile, the guild has promoted its temporary agreements as an option to allow independent producers to work with its members while adhering to the terms of its offer to studios.
The dual strikes have also had a significant impact on the industry beyond writers and actors, with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics noting in its latest jobs report on October 6 that “employment in the motion picture and sound recording industries has continued a downward trend (-7,000) and has declined by 45,000 since May, Which reflects the impact of labor disputes.
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