Hollywood actors suspend negotiations to end strike and accuse the production companies of ‘bully tactics’

The screenwriters’ strike set the bar very high: discreet negotiations, talks that lasted only five days, an agreement that came to fruition and 99% ratification by the union. As a result, many expected the negotiations with the actors to follow a similar script. But that has not been the case. Late Wednesday night, negotiations broke down. The actors’ strike continues with no end in sight. The actors union announced that it is suspending its negotiations with the bosses (made up of half a dozen of some of the world’s biggest movie studios), which it harshly accuses of “bully tactics,” and there is no date scheduled to resume talks.

SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, released a statement around midnight Wednesday explaining the “suspension” of talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which had resumed on Monday, October 2. “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,” they said. On their social media accounts, the message was harsher: “It is with profound disappointment that we report the industry CEOs have walked away from the bargaining table after refusing to counter our latest offer. We have negotiated with them in good faith, despite the fact that last week they presented an offer that was, shockingly, worth less than they proposed before the strike began. Our resolve is unwavering.”

The union represents over 160,000 performers across the United States. They decided to go on strike on July 14 to try to improve their economic and working conditions. Their collective contract is renewed every three years. The time had come to improve it, but their demands were not accepted by the major Hollywood studios and platforms, so they did not meet again until October 3, after eighty days of work stoppages. By that time, the screenwriters, who had been on strike for almost five months, had gone back to work.

Now, however, the negotiations have taken a step backward. It may simply be a blip, or even a pressure strategy by one of the two parties. But it may also be that the impasse is serious. The sector continues to be paralyzed, even as Hollywood’s big awards season approaches (the period lasts through the Oscars on March 10), which entails a multitude of premieres and events that are essential for promotion but will be watered down or nonexistent this year.

The union has been very harsh in its statements. They have claimed that the companies with which they’re negotiating “refuse to protect performers from being replaced by AI, they refuse to increase your wages to keep up with inflation, and they refuse to share a tiny portion of the immense revenue YOUR work generates for them.” They also noted that “we have made big, meaningful counters on our end, including completely transforming our revenue share proposal, which would cost the companies less than 57¢ per subscriber each year. They have rejected our proposals and refused to counter.” The salary increase proposal involved some $800 million a year, to be paid among all the major studios.

One of the most significant issues that the union is fighting for relates to how actors’ careers will be affected by artificial intelligence. According to SAG-AFTRA, AMPTP has demanded that on the first day of work actors sign a consent form so that a digital replica of that same performer can be used “for an entire film or franchise universe.” Moreover, the performers dislike the production companies’ tactics. SAG-AFTRA claims that “the companies are using the same failed strategy they tried to inflict on the WGA [Writers Guild of America, the screenwriters’ union] — putting out misleading information in an attempt to fool our members into abandoning our solidarity and putting pressure on our negotiators. But, just like the writers, our members are smarter than that and will not be fooled.” AMPTP denies that. Indeed, at the end of Wednesday’s negotiations, NBC chief Donna Langley told Bloomberg that they have “been spending time with the actors and we want to spend as much time as it takes to reach a resolution and get back to work.” At that point, the negotiations had already broken down.

Recently, union members — led by chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland — were at the bargaining table with the heads of companies including Warner, Disney, Universal, and Netflix. According to the trade media outlet Deadline, Wednesday’s meeting was a longer “and much more acrimonious” session than usual. AMPTP stated that they “hope that SAG-AFTRA will reconsider and return to productive negotiations soon.” They say that they have increased minimum wage percentages and protections related to artificial intelligence, and that they have accommodated actors’ requests. “On common issues, such as general wage increases, High-Budget SVOD residuals, and viewership bonuses, the AMPTP offered the same terms that were ratified by the DGA [Directors Guild of America] and WGA. Yet, SAG-AFTRA rejected these,” the production companies say in their statement. But when it was announced that the writers had reached an agreement, the president of the actors’ union, actress Fran Drescher, flatly told CNN: “We’re happy WGA came to an agreement, but one size doesn’t fit all.”

Today, the actors seem to be back at square one. Picket lines in Los Angeles are still common, the actors are approaching 100 days on strike, the industry has lost jobs and the State of California has lost $6 billion. “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. We stand united and ready to negotiate today, tomorrow, and every day.”

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