Actors union and studios to restart talks

The major entertainment studios and the union representing tens of thousands of striking actors will return to the negotiating table Tuesday.

The restart of negotiations was announced Saturday in a joint statement from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains on behalf of the studios, and SAG-AFTRA, the actors union.

The renewal of discussions is welcome news for an entertainment industry that has largely been at a standstill for months because of dual strikes by writers, who walked out in May, and the actors, who joined them in July. On Oct. 9, the Writers Guild of America ratified its new contract, and there had been hope that a new deal with the actors would follow.

Conversations between the alliance and the actors union fell apart Oct. 11. The studios balked at a new proposal that would involve a viewership bonus that they said would cost them close to $800 million.

After the discussions ended, the union’s chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, said: “Their position was the only way they’ll keep talking is if we give them a whole new set of counters. They’re not going to respond to what we gave them. They just want us to go back and start over and that’s not going to happen.”

Like their counterparts in the screenwriters guild, leaders of the actors union say the streaming era has had a negative impact on their working lives and their compensation. They are seeking wage increases, as well as protections around the use of artificial intelligence.

Last week, a group of A-list actors including George Clooney, Emma Stone and Tyler Perry made a proposal to the union that involved, among other things, the guild’s top earners paying more in dues in an attempt to bring an end to the strike. The proposal was immediately rejected by the guild.