SAG-AFTRA Meets as Potential Strike Vote Imminent

Hundreds of the union's movie and TV members convene to discuss possible work stoppage.

June 29, 2017 11:41 am
Actors Union SAG-AFTRA Convenes Before Potential Strike Vote
SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris speaks before the 'Sustaining Your Career After the Festivals' panel presented by SAG-AFTRA, Hispanicize and Latino Filmmakers Network during the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2017 in Park City, Utah. (Mat Hayward/Getty Images for SAG-AFTRA)

Hollywood could soon be adding picket lines to all that traffic. As Variety reports, SAG-AFTRA members met for two hours with their leaders—including president Gabrielle Carteris—yesterday evening for an update on contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

The deadline for a new contract is this Friday, June 30—and the union has said it will put a strike to vote. While it’s unclear what exactly is causing the breakdown in communication between the two parties, it is believed to include “transportation, rules for shorter TV seasons, and residual compensation for TV shows on streaming services.”

As the union argues on its website:

“This is a time of extraordinary entertainment and media industry profits. Global online distributors like Netflix, and now Amazon, are expanding the market for scripted film and television across the globe. Management’s demands will mean more for less—more hours, more work, more unreimbursed travel and less opportunity for fair compensation.”

Variety noted that the turnout to the meeting was “impressive,” given the short notice. SAG-AFTRA would need 75 percent of members to approve a strike.

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