After six months, Hollywood’s long, hot, and contentious summer of guild strikes may finally be over. The Writer’s Guild of America reached a historic agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the Hollywood studios and television networks, on Sept. 24. A little over a month later, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) appears to have their own tentative deal.
READ MORE: WGA & AMPTP have a deal: Strike could end after 146 day
The strike ended as of 12:01 AM PT on November 9. SAG-AFTRA will not release formal details of the agreement until Friday, but sent the following update to its members touting a contract worth “over one billion dollars”:
“Dear SAG-AFTRA Members,
We are thrilled and proud to tell you that today your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. As of 12:01 AM on November 9, our strike is officially suspended and all picket locations are closed. We will be in touch in the coming days with information about celebration gatherings around the country.
In a contract valued at over one billion dollars, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes “above-pattern” minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus. Our Pension & Health caps have been substantially raised, which will bring much needed value to our plans. In addition, the deal includes numerous improvements for multiple categories including outsize compensation increases for background performers, and critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities.
We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers. Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.
Full details of the agreement will not be provided until the tentative agreement is reviewed by the SAG-AFTRA National Board.
We also thank our union siblings — the workers that power this industry — for the sacrifices they have made while supporting our strike and that of the Writers Guild of America. We stand together in solidarity and will be there for you when you need us.
Thank you all for your dedication, your commitment, and your solidarity throughout this strike. It is because of YOU that these improvements became possible.
In solidarity and gratitude,
Your TV/TH Negotiating Committee”
In a statement, the AMPTP said the deal “represents a new paradigm” and “the AMPTP is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement and looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories.:
SAG-AFTRA went on strike on July 14 after originally extending the contract deadline from June 30 to July 13. When contract negotiations broke down, SAG President Fran Drescher accused the studios of asking for an extension only to be able to complete publicity needs for films such as “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”
Dresher gave an impassioned speech that went viral on July 13 where she noted, “We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. I am shocked by the way the people we have been in business with are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly, we are on so many things. How they plead poverty that they are losing money left and right when they are giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history at this very moment.”
SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP found themselves far apart on issues such as the use of AI (also a major issue for the WGA), a wide gulf over a salary increase, and conflicts over taped versus in-person auditions. The union took a backseat to the WGA when the studios began re-negotiating with that party in August. Once the WGA strike ended, SAG and the AMPTP met for the first time in a little under three months on Oct. 2.
The new talks featured the key members of the AMPTP who brought the WGA deal across the finish line including the now infamous AMPTP chief Carol Lombardini, NBC Universal Chairperson Donna Langley, Warner Bros. Discover CEO David Zaslav, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger and on the union side, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher, Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, and Chief Contracts Officer Ray Rodriguez, among others.
Negotiations were contentious in October, with talks breaking down on Oct. 11 and SAG having to deal with a number of high-profile stars including George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Meryl Streep, and Emma Stone, attempting to insert themselves in the process on Oct. 19. At this time it’s unclear what brought the studios and the union to an agreement.
The Directors Guild of America reached a deal with the AMPTP on June 3. It was criticized by many members who were also in the WGA but was still ratified on June 23 with just 41% of its membership voting. That criticism grew after details of the WGA’s eventual deal were revealed forcing the DGA to defend itself to its membership.
While writers and directors have been back at it for at least four weeks, it’s unclear what or if any productions will shoot or resume filming before the end of the year. The major networks will now attempt to salvage half of the traditional television with series filming as soon as the first week of January. It’s possible some studios will try to fit in needed reshoots in December, but most new films are not expected to begin before the first of the year.
The ending of the strike is a major boost to Oscar season as actors can finally promote not only their upcoming films to moviegoers but to their peers as well. It’s also a sigh of relief for the Television Academy which already moved the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards from mid-September to January 15.
The AMPTP will now turn its focus to the IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) whose contract runs out on July 31, 2024. If IATSE has never gone on strike in its 128 history. If it were to do so, Hollywood’s productions in the United States would come to a complete stop.
