SAG-AFTRA: Studios Seek To “Pad Corporate Profits & Fund Lavish Executive Compensation” As Threatened Actors Strike Looms
deadline.comAs SAG-AFTRA prepares to begin contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on June 7, it has laid the groundwork for some hard bargaining with the companies, telling members that “the AMPTP will often make proposals designed to cut costs at member expense in order to pad corporate profits and fund lavish executive compensation.” The Writers Guild of America is now in the 21st day of its strike, and the Directors Guild of America began its contract talks with the AMPTP on May 10.
Last week, SAG-AFTRA’s National Board voted unanimously to recommend that members authorize the board to call a strike after the current contract expires on June 30 if a fair deal can’t be reached.
Strike authorization ballots must be returned no later than June 5. “The time for change is now and we must be prepared to fight if management will not address our concerns,” the guild says on its frequently asked questions page.
Key issues in the talks, the union says, “include economic fairness, residuals, regulating the use of artificial intelligence and alleviating the burdens of the industry-wide shift to self-taping.” Its FAQ page explains the reasoning behind the need to address each of those key issues, though the guild’s actual proposals — which have been approved by the national board — haven’t been made public.
Read more on deadline.com