SAG-AFTRA And Studios To Resume Negotiations On Monday

Days after Hollywood writers guild the WGA agreed to a new deal with studio alliance the AMPTP and ended their strike, the actors guild SAG-AFTRA announced they will resume negotiations with the AMPTP next week.

"SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP will meet for bargaining on Monday, Oct. 2," the actors guild said in a statement to its members on Wednesday. "Several executives from AMPTP member companies will be in attendance. As negotiations proceed, we will report any substantiative updates directly to you."

SAG-AFTRA members have been on strike since July 13. Their decision to picket came after more than a month of contract negotiations between the guild — the labor union representing more than 160,000 performers — and the AMPTP ended without agreement on a new deal.

"This is a very seminal hour for us," SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said in an impassioned speech at the start of the strike. "I went in in earnest, thinking that we would be able to avert a strike. The gravity of this move is not lost on me, or our negotiating committee, or our board members who have voted unanimously to proceed with a strike. It's a very serious thing that impacts thousands, if not millions of people, all across this country and around the world. Not only members of this union, but people who work in other industries that service the people who work in this industry. It came with great sadness that we came to this crossroads, but we had no choice. We are the victims here." (Watch her speech here.)

Among the key issues on the table, according to our sister publication Variety, are "streaming residuals, artificial intelligence, and pension and health contributions." In June, more than 1,000 actors — including A-list names like Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence — signed a letter to SAG-AFTRA, urging their union to secure a "transformative" deal with studios and streamers and confirming their intention to strike if the deal wasn't made.

Until recently, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents TV and movie writers, also was on strike. That changed on Sunday when the guild and the AMPTP came to a tentative agreement on a new, three-year contract.