Negotiation talks between the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have been suspended.
SAG-AFTRA has been on strike since July 14, 2023. The strike lobbies for better pay for actors, protection against artificial intelligence (AI), and more. After the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike ended on September 27, 2023, SAG-AFTRA resumed negotiations with AMPTP on October 2, 2023, to end the actors strike; however, these negotiations have now been suspended after disagreements over AI, revenue sharing, and more.
SAG-AFTRA’s statement on suspended negotiations
On October 12, 2023, SAG-AFTRA released a statement about the suspended negotiations.
“We have negotiated with them in good faith, despite the fact that last week they presented an offer that was, shockingly, worth less than they proposed before the strike began,” it reads. “These companies refuse to protect performers from being replaced by AI, they refuse to increase your wages to keep up with inflation, and they refuse to share a tiny portion of the immense revenue YOUR work generates for them. We have made big, meaningful counters on our end, including completely transforming our revenue share proposal, which would cost the companies less than 57¢ per subscriber each year. They have rejected our proposals and refused to counter.
“Instead they use bully tactics. Just tonight, they intentionally misrepresented to the press the cost of the above proposal – overstating it by 60%. They have done the same with A.I., claiming to protect performer consent, but continuing to demand ‘consent’ on the first day of employment for use of a performer’s digital replica for an entire cinematic universe (or any franchise project).”
Read the full statement by clicking here.
AMPTP’s statement on suspended negotiations
AMPTP also released a statement about the negotiations on October 11, 2023.
“After meaningful conversations, it is clear that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction,” it reads. “SAG-AFTRA’s current offer included what it characterized as a viewership bonus that, by itself, would cost more than $800 million per year – which would create an untenable economic burden. SAG-AFTRA presented few, if any, moves on the numerous remaining open items.”
The statement continues to outline the conditions AMPTP allegedly gave SAG-AFTRA to end the actors strike. According to AMPTP, the organization offered the “highest percentage increase in minimums in 35 years, which would generate an additional $717 million in wages and $177 million in contributions to the Pension and Health Plans during the contract term” and “advance consent from the performer and background actor to create and use Digital Replicas,” among other terms.
Read the full statement by clicking here.