Major film and television studios made a generous offer of over $1 billion in increased compensation and improved benefits to Hollywood actors before the recent strike initiated by the SAG-AFTRA union. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents prominent companies such as Netflix Inc, Walt Disney Co, and Warner Bros Discovery, emphasized that the negotiations had been misrepresented by SAG-AFTRA.
SAG-AFTRA, a union representing more than 160,000 actors, stunt performers, and other industry professionals, called for the strike last week due to an impasse in negotiations over a new three-year contract. The primary issues included higher benefits and limitations on the usage of actors’ images by artificial intelligence.
According to the AMPTP, the deal that SAG-AFTRA rejected on July 12 offered significant benefits, including wage increases, pension and health contributions, and residual increases. Furthermore, it featured groundbreaking safeguards concerning artificial intelligence throughout its three-year duration.
The AMPTP responded to SAG-AFTRA’s claims, stating that the union’s allegations of being unresponsive to its members’ needs were unfounded. The negotiation process had been marked by earnest efforts to address concerns and prioritize the well-being of actors.
SAG-AFTRA released a comprehensive list of its proposals and the studios’ responses, expressing their determination to fight for the survival of their profession. One of their key demands was an 11% general wage increase in the first year of the contract to account for inflation. However, the studios countered with an offer of 5%, resulting in an ongoing disagreement.
Notably, the actors’ strike coincides with the ongoing strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which commenced on May 2 after failing to reach an agreement with the AMPTP.
