A call from Disney CEO Bob Iger to SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland on Saturday, Oct. 21 set the stage for the resumption of long-awaited negotiations between the union and Hollywood studios later this week. Iger expressed the desire of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to get back to bargaining and finally reach a new three-year contract amid a SAG-AFTRA strike that has now entered its 100th day.
Following the conversation with Iger, AMPTP president Carol Lombardini reached out to Crabtree-Ireland as well. Responding to pressure from members at all levels of the union, SAG-AFTRA swiftly issued a joint press release with the AMPTP, announcing the return to negotiations and adjourning its biennial national convention two days early to allow the union’s staff and negotiating team to focus on the talks.
The AMPTP, which had walked out of negotiations on Oct. 11 citing a significant “gap” between the two sides, is expected to present a new package of proposals during the upcoming meeting on Tuesday. The negotiations will be attended by the same four Hollywood leaders who were present in the previous round of talks that broke down earlier this month, including Iger, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, and NBCUniversal Studio Group chairman and chief content officer Donna Langley.
These developments come after A-list actors, including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney, and Emma Stone, among others, expressed their concern about the progress of the negotiations and their desire for a united front. The actors held several Zoom meetings with SAG-AFTRA leaders Crabtree-Ireland and president Fran Drescher to discuss returning to the bargaining table. Some actors had already individually communicated with union leaders but decided to collaborate to break through the stalemate.
Before talks initially broke off, sources reveal that the four CEOs attending SAG-AFTRA’s negotiations were taken aback by Drescher’s negotiating style, which involved unconventional tactics such as bringing a doll and citing Buddhist inspirational quotes. However, a union source denies the claim that Drescher proclaimed, “I don’t care if we are here for a year” to achieve the union’s ends. Drescher defended her negotiation style, stating that she does not need to emulate male energy to be an effective leader. Crabtree-Ireland condemned the use of sexist tropes to diminish women leaders in Hollywood, supporting Drescher’s approach of bringing balance and consensus to the negotiation process.
During the Zoom meetings with the A-listers, ideas such as eliminating the $1 million dues cap on high-earning members and proposing a new model for streaming residuals were discussed. Affleck reportedly wrote a proposal to benefit lower-paid actors, and some actors suggested eliminating the dues cap on highest-paid actors as a potential augmentation to the model. However, Drescher clarified that such contributions would conflict with the union’s federally regulated status.
The frustration felt by the actors after the Zoom meetings led some of them to reach out to their studio contacts, urging them to return to the bargaining table and asking how they could facilitate the negotiation process. Additionally, some actors began working on a letter expressing their concerns about SAG’s leadership. However, the guild members ultimately decided not to publicize the letter to avoid disrupting the ongoing negotiations.
The decision to resume negotiations was motivated by the desire to salvage the 2024 movie and broadcast season, as well as to restore industry jobs that have been on hold due to the prolonged strikes in the entertainment industry. SAG-AFTRA expected a counterproposal from the studios after making a significant change to its revenue-share proposal on Oct. 11, transforming it into a fee on subscribers. The union sees this change as a substantial concession.
The union stated in a message to its members that their unity and strength had influenced the CEOs to return to the bargaining table. The negotiations are expected to bring a new deal to the table on Tuesday, and the reaction of SAG-AFTRA’s negotiators to the contract language remains to be seen. The union is determined to address the issue of charging streaming platforms a fee on every global subscriber, which the CEOs are hesitant to discuss. Drescher emphasized the need for an unprecedented compensation structure to accompany the introduction of streaming and enable the industry to adapt to the new normal.
Hollywood and guild members await the outcome of the negotiations with cautious anticipation, hoping for a deal that will benefit the union’s membership and allow the industry to resume production. Former SAG president Melissa Gilbert expresses her hope that the union will secure a favorable deal, allowing those affected by the strikes to return to work and alleviate the hardships faced by the industry.
