SAG-AFTRA agrees to federal mediation with studios as deadline nears
With just hours until the contract between Hollywood actors and studios expires, both sides have agreed to seek federal mediation in hopes of averting a strike that could derail the film industry.
In a letter sent to SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) union members, leaders said that the negotiating committee had agreed to a "last-minute request for federal mediation" as they continue to seek a fair deal.
"We will not be distracted from negotiating in good faith to secure a fair and just deal by the expiration of our agreement. 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," the letter said.
A report from Variety early Tuesday disclosed that "a group of CEOs and senior executives" were making moves towards avoiding the strike by the nearly 160,000 members of the SAG-AFTRA union (Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). The group included the likes of Disney CEO Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery's David Zaslav and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos.
"In addition to the executives discussing efforts to bring in a federal mediator, talent agency chieftains ... have reached out to SAG-AFTRA leaders in recent days to offer assistance that could stave off a second Hollywood work stoppage this summer," said the report from Variety.
Additionally Variety reported that the several "talent agency chieftains" included Ari Emanuel of WME, Bryan Lourd of CAA and UTA's Jeremy Zimmer.
SAG-AFTRA addressed Variety's story in their letter, saying that they "condemn the tactic outlined in today's inaccurate Variety piece naming the CEOs of several entertainment conglomerates as the force behind the request for mediation; information that was leaked to the press by the CEOs and their 'anonymous sources' before our negotiators were even told of the request for mediation. The AMPTP has abused our trust and damaged the respect we have for them in this process. We will not be manipulated by this cynical ploy to engineer an extension when the companies have had more than enough time to make a fair deal."
The mediator will have just one day to bridge the gap between actors and the studios, as no intent to extend the deadline was announced on Tuesday.
Related: SAG-AFTRA overwhelmingly authorizes strike if contract talks stall
Current hopes is that the sides can avoid a similar situation like the ongoing Writers Guild Association strike, which has been ongoing for more than two months now as members continue to seek better pay and benefits from the studios.
The contract between SAG-AFTRA members and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the production companies, is set to expire at midnight on Wednesday. This comes nearly two weeks after the two sides opted to extend the contract from the original expiration date on June 30 so that negotiations could continue.
Thus far, contract negotiation have been ongoing under a mutually agreed-upon media blackout, preventing either side from discussing the status of talks with the media.
SAG-AFTRA negotiators are seeking a number of demands that include upgraded benefit plans, member protections from "erosion of income" by inflation and reduced residuals, unregulated use of artificial intelligence and demands for self-taped auditions, as detailed in a letter sent to union members in June.
"SAG-AFTRA represents performers. We are here to get a deal that ensures our members can earn a living wage in our expansive industry we help make possible with our work. The AMPTP can make this happen at any time. They know what our members need and when they bring that to the table, we will be listening, but it's important to know - time is running out," said Tuesday's letter to union members.
The actors union has not gone on strike since 1980.
Should actors end up going on strike, it would result in what could be a complete shutdown of production as they join the striking writers, who are seeking similar demands in their own negotiations.
AMPTP recently reached a multi-year contract agreement with the Directors Guild of America, which was ratified by members in late June.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Paramount Global, which owns CBS and KCAL News, is part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. In addition, many KCAL News anchors and reporters are SAG members. However, they operate under a different contract and are not part of the pending negotiations. Also, many KCAL News producers and writers are WGA members. However, they are on a separate contract.
