SAG-AFTRA members walk the picket line on the 100th day of their ongoing strike outside Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California, October 20, 2023.
Mario Anzuoni | Reuters
Hollywood’s actors and studios have a preliminary labor agreement.
“In a unanimous vote this afternoon, the SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Committee approved a tentative agreement with the AMPTP bringing an end to the 118-day strike,” the actors guild said in a statement, adding that the strike will officially end at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
The tentative deal will go to the union’s national board Friday for “review and consideration,” the statement said, and added that further details will be released following the meeting.
Talks between Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers resumed in recent days after abruptly ending last month, ultimately leading to a tentative deal that would end the actors’ strike.
The actors strike, which has lasted 118 days, will end at midnight and the SAG-AFTRA board will convene on Friday to review the final deal.
Hollywood actors initiated a work stoppage in mid-July as negotiations broke down with studios including Disney, Paramount, Universal, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Studios put forth their “last, best and final offer” over the weekend, with top executives making clear that they would not make further concessions. SAG-AFTRA spent time Sunday and Monday evaluating the deal.
Television and film performers were looking to improve wages, working conditions, and health and pension benefits, as well as establish guardrails for the use of AI in future television and film productions. Additionally, the union sought more transparency from streaming services about viewership so that residual payments can be made equitable to linear TV.
The deal comes more than a month after SAG-AFTRA’s sister guild the Writers Guild of America solidified a new contract with studios and ended its own strike.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is a member of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
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