Hollywood strike: SAG-AFTRA reacts to George Clooney, A-listers' proposal
Appreciating George Clooney and other top Hollywood actors' proposal to help end the deadlock between the actors and studios, the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee addressed the offer in a letter on Thursday (local time). While it thanked the A-listers for the offer, the committee said, "It...would have no bearing on this present contract or even as a subject of collective bargaining."
Why does this story matter?
While the writers are back at work almost in full swing, the actors' strike is set to surpass 100 days. The negotiation between the studios and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists did not succeed as the former "walked away from the table." As per the studios, the actors' demands were too expensive and both parties were very far off.
What are the SAG-AFTRA's demands?
The SAG-AFTRA has been on strike for the last two months for several reasons. They are fighting against the studios and the streamers for long-term pay, stability in employment, and authority over the use of artificial intelligence. However, per the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), one of SAG-AFTRA's demands is that each streamer service subscriber pay a charge to the union.
What did the Hollywood A-listers propose?
Actors including Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Emma Stone, Ben Affleck, and Tyler Perry have offered to remove the $1M cap on membership dues which is expected to bring over $150M to the union over the next three years. They also offered "a bottom-up residual structure- meaning the top of the call sheet would be the last to collect residuals, not the first."
What is membership dues?
Membership dues are the price that members of an organization need to pay at regular intervals or annually to be a part of it. It's called dues instead of fees because the membership is usually recurrent whereas a "fee" is mostly a "one-time" payment.
What did the negotiation committee say about the proposal?
Expressing their gratitude to the top actors for their suggestions, the negotiation committee said in a letter, "This generous concept is worthy of consideration, but it is in no way related to and would have no bearing on this present contract or even as a subject of collective bargaining." "It is, in fact, prohibited by Federal labor law."
What is the Hollywood strike all about?
The actors who are members of SAG-AFTRA and work in the film and TV industries joined the Writers Guild of America (WGA) who were striking since May. The reasons included fair pay and protection from the intrusion of AI. The unions demanded higher minimum pay, more writers per show, and assurance of AI usage. The writers' strike ended last month after successful negotiations.
