SAG-AFTRA
The SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee meets to discuss the studios’ latest offer. The conversation could potentially lead to a final union vote on the deal.
The negotiating team continued its discussion from Tuesday evening on the latest proposal from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and met Wednesday starting at about 11 a.m. At press time, it was unclear when a final vote on the deal might take place, but a union source said the group was voting at that time on the shape of the final package, which the team will send to AMPTP President Carol Lombardini to see whether the management side will agree. The source added that the union side would need to submit a final adjustment to the generative AI consent to the AMPTP, which is unlikely to be a deal-breaker.
Some time after the negotiating committee — a group of 17 voting members and 17 alternates who work based on a general consensus — tallies its final votes on the pact, it will announce to members whether they support it, another union site says Source.
Several sources expressed optimism that the final vote and agreement could take place on Wednesday. According to multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations, SAG leadership expects the negotiating committee to vote unanimously to support the agreement reached with the AMPTP.
The negotiating committee spoke for ten hours on Tuesday about the companies’ latest deal, the group reported to members that evening. “We thank you for your patience and support as we complete our work,” they said.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav called the studio offer “final and final” in a conference call Tuesday and said it “meets virtually all of the union’s goals.” He added: “We recognize that we need our creative partners to feel valued and rewarded, and look forward to both parties getting back to telling great stories.” Meanwhile, Disney CEO Bob Iger said in In a CNBC interview the same day, he said he was “optimistic” that the actors’ deal would be negotiated soon. Regarding cinema planning for 2024, he added: “Of course we want to try to maintain a film summer, the whole industry is focused on that, we don’t have much time for it.”
But the negotiating committee’s vote is just one step in a larger process. According to SAG-AFTRA’s statutes, all statewide multi-employer collective bargaining agreements – such as: B. the TV/Theater contract – must be approved by the union’s national board and then ratified by its members to come into effect.
Kim Masters and Rebecca Keegan contributed reporting.