FINALLY: SAG-AFTRA Tentative Deal Ends Historic Dual Strike
FINALLY: SAG-AFTRA Tentative Deal Ends Historic Dual Strike
The union's negotiating committee has voted to approve a new three-year contract
A deal! A deal! We have a deal. SAG-AFTRA, the union representing more than 160,000 actors and performers, has come to a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on a new three-year contract, ending a 118-day strike.
“In a unanimous vote this afternoon, The SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Committee approved a tentative agreement with the AMPTP bringing an end to the 118 day strike,” said the union in a statement. “The strike officially ends at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, November 9. The tentative deal will go to the SAG-AFTRA National Board on Friday, November 10, 2023, for review and consideration. Further details will be released following that meeting.”
The exact contents of the deal are yet unknown. The studios had on Saturday presented a “last, best and final offer” to the union; SAG-AFTRA then spent the next several days deliberating over the the suite of proposals and tinkering with the language before voting to approve and send it back to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which reps the major studios and streamers.
Hammering out the last details over AI language had slowed down the negotiating process in the homestretch as the actors guild aimed to incorporate protections for its members against the fast-moving technology.
The SAG-AFTRA National Board will still need to approve the collective bargaining agreement, which will then be brought to membership for ratification.
When the union officially calls an end to the work stoppage, it will bring an historic dual Hollywood strike to a close. The 148-day Writers Guild of America strike ended in late September, with the union declaring an enormous victory for its 11,500 TV and film scribes on a deal that included a success-based streaming bonus, minimum rate increases, and staffing minimums.
With the town in stasis for the last six months, the industry is now looking to properly get back into gear. Since the end of the WGA strike, writers rooms have been back in action — but without actors available to film, production schedules have still been a question mark, with the hope to return by January.
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