Actors Sign Letter Signaling Support for Ongoing SAG Strike
By Movieguide® Contributor
Actors signed an open letter last week, signaling their support for the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
The letter, which includes signatures from thousands of union members, declares that the organization will not give up the strike until negotiations are met.
“Back in June, before we went on strike, a large group of members signed an open letter telling our leaders that we would rather go on strike than take a bad deal,” the letter read. “Now, more than 100 days into our strike, that is still true. As hard as this is, we would rather stay on strike than take a bad deal.”
“We have not come all this way to cave now. We have not gone without work, without pay, and walked picket lines for months just to give up on everything we’ve been fighting for. We cannot and will not accept a contract that fails to address the vital and existential problems that we all need fixed,” the letter continued.
“In any union, there will always be a minority who are not willing to make temporary sacrifices for the greater good. But we, the majority who voted overwhelmingly to authorize this strike, are still standing in solidarity, ready to strike as long as it takes and to endure whatever we must in order to win a deal that is worthy of our collective sacrifice. We know that our union leaders are doing everything in their power to achieve that goal as they negotiate in good faith with the companies to arrive at a new contract that will protect us and our fellow performers, now and for generations to come,” the letter concluded.
Negotiations between SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have resumed, with a counteroffer on the table.
Insiders have reported that although the negotiations are ongoing, they’re nearing a close. Deadline reported, “Both sides expressed confidence a deal may be reached within days, but as before cautioned the situation is still fluid. From our understanding, SAG-AFTRA and the studios have gained ‘significant’ traction on bridging their gap over what has been termed as success-based compensation for streaming shows and their casts.”
SAG and AMPTP met over the weekend with the hope of hammering out a deal.
“Over the course of the weekend, we have discussed all open proposals, including AI, with the AMPTP,” SAG-AFTRA tweeted on Sunday. “Both parties will be working independently Monday and re-engage on scheduling at the end of the day. Join us and flood picket lines in the morning. Make your voices heard.”
“The talks were said to be productive: Several studio-side insiders described the weekend sessions as a positive step, even as the two sides have not yet buttoned up all deal points, including the union’s attempt to capture further compensation from streaming work and regulations on AI,” per the Hollywood Reporter.
Movieguide® previously reported on the SAG strike’s impact on the entertainment industry:
Studios are hesitant to release big-name projects during the actors’ strike, leading to a content desert as the holidays approach.
“The lack of any resolution in labor conflicts is bad news for movie theaters,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice Pro. “The longer the strike goes on, we approach the worst-case scenario of impact. Some movies don’t need actors to promote them, but smaller releases could benefit from having stars on the press circuit.”
Already, 2023 has lost major releases as DUNE: PART TWO, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE and KRAVEN THE HUNTER have all been pushed to next year.
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