SAG-AFTRA and Studios Extend Talks to July 12
Getty Images
SAG-AFTRA and the studios will continue to talk beyond Friday’s midnight contract deadline as they remain at odds over issues like streaming residuals and artificial intelligence.
The union has agreed to extend the contract until July 12. The Alliance of Film and Television Producers and SAG-AFTRA made the announcement in a joint statement shortly before 7 p.m. on Friday.
In a message to its members, SAG-AFTRA said leadership unanimously decided to extend the treaty “to exhaust every opportunity to achieve the just treaty we all demand and deserve.”
“No one should mistake this extension for a weakness,” union leaders said. “We see you. We hear you. We are you.”
The two sides are expected to meet again on Saturday, but it’s possible they’ll take a few days off afterwards for the holidays.
Negotiations have been going on since June 7, and both sides have exchanged proposals and held lengthy talks over the past few days. However, sources have said they remain far apart on several key issues.
The union, which represents 160,000 artists, could still call a strike if talks fail.
In a letter this week, more than 1,000 members urged union leaders to call a strike if they cannot reach a “transformative agreement”.
In a video message last weekend, union leader Fran Drescher said the talks had been “extremely productive” and vowed to reach a “groundbreaking” agreement.
SAG-AFTRA aims for comprehensive AI protections and a streaming residual formula that would pay a bonus for best-performing broadcasts. The guild is also trying to bolster its pension and healthcare plans, which have been forced to drastically increase eligibility requirements during the pandemic.
Many SAG-AFTRA members have already joined the picket line as a show of solidarity with the Writers Guild of America. The WGA has been on strike for nearly two months, and an actors’ strike would halt nearly all script and television production not already halted by the writers.
Some low-budget independent productions may be granted a continuation license. But many foreign productions – which were largely spared by the writers’ strike – would be discontinued.
It is not uncommon for SAG-AFTRA negotiations to drag a few days past the deadline. In both 2014 and 2017, negotiators extended talks by three more days.
In this case, SAG-AFTRA had a short negotiation window – just three weeks and two days. The talks usually last at least a month, sometimes longer. Union negotiators also came to the table with an unusually lengthy agenda.
SAG-AFTRA has not called a strike over its basic film and television contract since 1980. This strike lasted 94 days. A key issue then, as now, was final payments.
The union has proposed using Parrot Analytics, an external data company, to measure the success of shows, with the most popular shows generating a higher remnant. The studios, represented by the AMPTP, have opposed this idea. The studios have also refused to base compensation on their own viewership, which is considered proprietary and not passed on to creators.
The union is not seeking a ban on the use of AI to provide services. However, it is required that any use of an actor’s image and likeness must be with his permission and against payment. The union is also aiming to limit AI training.
