Posted in: Movies, streaming, TV | Tagged: amptp, SAG-AFTRA, wga, writers' strike

WGA Calls Out AMPTP: Do Right By SAG-AFTRA; New Actors Union Message

SAG-AFTRA messaged members ahead of today's talks; the WGA had a message for the AMPTP: do right by SAG-AFTRA with a deal meeting its needs.

This week could be a very telling week as far as the future of the entertainment industry goes – both short-term and long-term. After reaching a deal with the WGA last month that ended the writers' strike, the AMPTP is heading to SAG-AFTRA's headquarters today to begin negotiations in earnest. Hopefully, by the end of the week, the studios & streamers will see the error of their ways and do right by the actors' union as it apparently did with the WGA. While many assume that the recent WGA deal could serve as the framework for a deal with the actors' union, SAG-AFTRA-specific issues involving AI, streaming residuals, and minimum rate hikes will be the hot topics that will need to be hammered out. As was the case with talks with the WGA, Disney CEO Bob Iger, NBCUniversal CCO Donna Langley, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav are expected to take part in these negotiations, too. Heading into today's meeting the actors' union's negotiating committee messaged SAF-AFTRA members: "Today, we go back to the bargaining table to fight for the contract you deserve. Keep turning out in full force on our picket lines and at solidarity events around the country. Let the AMPTP hear your voices loud and clear. It makes a difference. YOU make a difference."

Here's a look at what SAG-AFTRA had to share earlier today – along with a promise to the membership that they will be kept updated on how things are proceeding. Following that, the WGA also issued a statement in support of SAG-AFTRA, reaffirming its commitment to support SAG-AFTRA's picketing and warning AMPTP not to waste time attempting to force the WGA or another union's contract on SAG-AFTRA as a quick fix. "Rather than engage in the traditional AMPTP tactic of pushing a deal on SAG-AFTRA that is patterned on our own tentative agreement or any other industry deal, a strategy which has already caused considerable delay and suffering – the companies must make a deal that addresses the needs of performers," reads the statement. Here's a look at the initial tweet/x, followed by a transcript of the entire statement:

"WGA West and East call upon the AMPTP and its member companies to negotiate the fair deal that members of SAG-AFTRA need and deserve," began the first of four tweets from the writers' union. "SAG-AFTRA has been on strike for more than 70 days as it fights for a contract that allows performers to share in the value of the work they help create. Rather than engage in the traditional AMPTP tactic of pushing a deal on SAG-AFTRA that is patterned on our own tentative agreement or any other industry deal, a strategy which has already caused considerable delay and suffering – the companies must make a deal that addresses the needs of performers. WGA members will continue to show up on picket lines and support SAG-AFTRA until they reach that deal. #SolidarityForever"

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