SAG-AFTRA will continue deliberations on latest studio offer – The Hollywood Reporter
SAG-AFTRA will continue deliberations on the studios and streamers’ latest offer as both parties attempt to negotiate a new three-year agreement that will end the actors’ strike.
“Following a meeting with the AMPTP on Monday evening, the Television/Theater Negotiating Committee spent ten hours deliberating today. “We will continue on Wednesday,” the union tweeted late Tuesday evening. “We thank you for your patience and support as we complete our work.”
The news comes after SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating committee held a marathon late-night meeting Tuesday to discuss the companies’ latest offer. The previous evening, SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers president Carol Lombardini met to discuss the companies’ recent tweaks to their proposals, which included changes belonged to the AI, sources said The Hollywood Reporter.
The union is expected to provide its response to the companies soon. “SAG-AFTRA declines to comment because our negotiations are ongoing and we are highly focused on negotiating in good faith to ensure a fair deal for SAG-AFTRA members,” a SAG-AFTRA spokesperson said.
The sides have been negotiating non-stop for about two weeks, and AI has remained a central issue throughout. While the union’s initial approach to the rapidly evolving technology consisted of around four pages of legal language in its interim agreement, that volume has since multiplied as the union seeks to eliminate any potential loopholes that could affect artists over the next three years .
On Monday, multiple sources suggested that the studios’ proposed AI rules for “Schedule F” actors – high-earning guild members who make more than the minimum for series regulars and feature films – were a key sticking point for the union. In addition to the “Schedule F” issue, the union also planned to take countermeasures on non-monetary issues at this time.
On Monday, the SAG-AFTRA bargaining committee said in a statement informing members that the union had submitted its latest proposal to the AMPTP: “Please be aware that every member of our TV/Theater Negotiating Committee is determined to get the right deal and therefore end this strike responsibly.” They added: “There are several key points on which we do not yet have agreement, including AI.”
The 2023 actors’ strike is now in its 117th day.
November 7th, 11:22 p.m An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP would meet on Wednesday. No date has been set for further discussions. THR regrets the mistake.
