SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood studios will be working into the weekend in an attempt to reach a new three-year contract deal after the companies delivered their latest offer to the union on Friday.
Both sides met on Friday as the negotiations continue over a deal that could end the 113-day actors’ strike, which has become the longest TV/theatrical strike in the union’s history. One studio-side source said the meeting between the two parties seemed to go well, and that the ball is now in SAG-AFTRA’s court.
In a message to union members on Friday night, the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee added that it would be meeting Saturday morning to prepare for discussions with the AMPTP that afternoon.
The talks have haltingly progressed all week, and how the contract will tackle AI has been a focal point. SAG-AFTRA offered the studio side a new AI proposal on Wednesday as the union sought to close any potential loopholes that could jeopardize the work of its members. As the labor group’s negotiating committee told members on Thursday night, the union also spent several days awaiting responses to a “comprehensive” proposal package that touched on multiple issues that they delivered to companies on Saturday.
Still, hopes have generally been high that the two sides are at least nearing a denouement to the negotiations saga, if slowly. On Tuesday, SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told members that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the negotiations, after his negotiating committee one day earlier said that they and management were “far apart on key issues.” On Tuesday, multiple sources told THR that they felt a deal was at least in sight.
By Wednesday, a studio-side source said, “Things are still moving but slow.”
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher posted a photo of herself on Instagram on Friday with a friend at an engagement party, noting that it was taken after a “long day at the office.” She wrote, “Finding balance is important. TGIF! Let’s hope the amptp ceo’s resurface with a seal the deal counter!” Time will tell if SAG-AFTRA negotiators believe that Friday’s proposal will do just that.
Nov. 3, 10:54 p.m. Updated with SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee message.
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