The SAG-AFTRA union representing Hollywood actors currently on strike will sit down next Monday with studios represented by AMPTP to resume bargaining over a new agreement.
Negotiations will take place October 2, with several executives from AMPTP companies in attendance, the two groups announced Wednesday. Major streamers and studios are represented by AMPTP including Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. Discovery. SAG-AFTRA’s some 160,000 members had been on strike for 76 days since mid-July, when they joined picket lines alongside striking TV and film writers, seeking higher pay amidst a shift to streaming, among other issues.
The announcement of resumed talks comes after the Writers Guild of America this week voted to formally end a months-long strike for its more than 11,500 members as the union struck a new agreement with AMPTP. WGA lifted the strike order covering writers as of Wednesday and has recommended approval of the deal, but members still need to vote to officially ratify it.
Some of the issues at hand in negotiations for the writers agreement included higher pay - particularly related to streaming as content shifts to new platforms and the ecosystem undergoes major changes - residuals, data transparency and guardrails against the use of AI, among others.
Writers had been on strike since May and when actors joined July 14 Hollywood production on scripted shows and movies largely came to a halt. It marked the first dual actors and writers strike since 1960. With WGA and studios reaching a tentative agreement earlier in the week, attention has turned to SAG-AFTRA.
“We remain on strike in our TV/Theatrical contract and continue to urge the studio and streamer CEOs and the AMPTP to return to the table and make the fair deal that our members deserve and demand,” the SAG-AFTRA union said in a statement earlier following WGA-AMPTP’s tentative deal announcement.
Separately, on Monday SAG-AFTRA voted to authorize a strike covering members’ work on video games, saying video game companies have refused to offer acceptable terms on critical issues including wages that keep up with inflation, protections around AI and basic safety precautions. The next bargaining session on the video game front was set to take place September 26-28.