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Actors Union Negotiations With Studios Break Down
Strikers were out in full force last Friday in front of Universal Studios.
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Robert Garrova / LAist
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Topline:
In an update to members after midnight on Thursday, SAG-AFTRA negotiators said they were profoundly disappointed to announce that talks had broken down after several days of negotiating with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The performers and studios are still locking horns over wage increases, protections around the use of artificial intelligence and digital replicas, among other provisions.
Alleged "bully tactics": In a statement to members, SAG-AFTRA accused the studios and streamers of using "bully tactics" to divide its members by releasing alleged misleading proposals on wage increases and AI protections. During negotiations with the Writers Guild of America, the AMPTP also went public with details of their proposal, drawing the ire of Hollywood writers.
Gap too great? “After meaningful conversations, it is clear that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction,” the studios said in a statement that accompanied details of their latest proposal.
The AMPTP’s summary included a 58% wage increase for guest star performers on high-budget streaming shows, as well as “meeting nearly all of the union’s demands on casting.”
Anxious for an end: The news of talks breaking down comes as thousands of Hollywood workers are struggling to make ends meet as the performers strike closes in on three months, which SAG-AFTRA negotiators acknowledged in their statement Thursday: “We feel the pain these companies have inflicted on our members, our strike captains, IATSE, Teamsters and Basic Crafts union members, and everyone in this industry. We have sacrificed too much to capitulate to their stonewalling and greed.”
The AMPTP said it hopes to return to “productive negotiations” soon.
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