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Strike Update: The Fits and Starts of Interrupted Negotiations


October 30, 2023

For those feeling pessimistic after contract negotiations fell apart two weeks ago, there now appears to be some hope. The fact that the AMPTP has come back to the table and worked with SAG-AFTRA leadership over the weekend was a sure sign that both sides are serious, and everyone is searching for an end to the action that has cost the industry billions of dollars.

It has now been 109 days since the members of SAG-AFTRA walked out and began their strike, which is more than 15 weeks of walking picket lines and not working. People are getting desperate and want to get back to work, but of course not so badly that they’re ready to take a subpar deal.

Thursday, a group of high-profile actors — including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jon Hamm, Sarah Paulson, Chelsea Handler, Christian Slater, Sandra Oh, Daveed Diggs, Pedro Pascal and more — sent an open letter to the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee emphasizing that, “We would rather stay on strike than take a bad deal.”

By all accounts, morale on picket lines has been high, as has union solidarity. Even with the Halloween costume hiccup of last week — with leadership informing membership not to wear costumes of characters owned by AMPTP members, to great ridicule — SAG-AFTRA membership has remained strong, posting photos on social media and winning the PR war with the public.

The news coming out of both sides Sunday night was that they might possibly be closing in on a new deal, but none was reached at the close of talks, with more discussions set to continue this week. Word leaked that many of the financial issues have been resolved, but other outstanding issues, like the use of AI, still need to be ironed out. That said, the two sides appear to be closer now than ever before.

The urgency comes with the knowledge that financial losses have now extended into 2024, with movies like Mission: Impossible 8, the live-action Snow White and Pixar’s Elio all moved off the schedule to 2025.

Those shifts are projected to take more than $1.5 billion from next year’s box office, which is suddenly looking exceedingly thin. Add in facts like Peacock losing $565 million this summer for NBC Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery saying that it pegs its own losses at between $300 million and $500 million this year, and that urgency is hammered home.

One of the major issues that had previously been so divisive was the percentage of increase in minimums. As recently as Friday, the top offer from the studios was a 7 percent increase, with SAG-AFTRA offering a self-described “comprehensive counter” going from a proposed 11 percent rise to 9 percent.

This was after SAG-AFTRA had asked for an annual charge for streamers of 57 cents per subscriber, which was a non-starter with AMPTP members. Netflix boss Ted Sarandos called It “a levy on subscribers,” though lead SAG-AFTRA negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland referred to Sarandos’ comment as “preposterous.”

“That’s like saying that workers should be compensated for their work as a tax,” he told Deadline Hollywood while at New York Comic-Con. “That’s wrong. The reason that product exists is because of their work. Fair compensation, fair wages for workers is not and never has been, or will be a tax.”

Another question is whether or not the guild’s need to overhaul the antiquated residual payment structure will be achieved. The one in place never accounted for streaming, and it has cost SAG-AFTRA members millions in lost revenue that used to be a given.

Gone is the time when a character actor could make their year with the syndication residuals from a guest starring spot on a long-running broadcast series. With shorter-season streaming shows now the norm, such deals are a thing of yesteryear but are still integral to being able to sustain a career as a working actor. Crabtree-Ireland and SAG-AFRRA president Fran Drescher has repeatedly declared that this is a necessity in any resulting deal.

Ultimately, the good news is that everyone is motivated to come to an agreement, and as the two sides get closer to it, there is a greater expectation that it will happen.

The union’s TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee put out a statement late last night saying, “Both parties will be working independently Monday and re-engage on scheduling at the end of the day.” The implication is that they are close on some key issues and need to huddle with their teams to come up with plans to get a deal done.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the union plans to let up at all in the interim. The statement went on to belt out a call to action, saying, “Join us and flood picket lines in the morning. Make your voices heard.”

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