LOS ANGELES — Negotiations between the studios and the union representing thousands of striking Hollywood actors have been suspended, the parties announced.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said in a statement late Wednesday that the gap between it and the union known as SAG-AFTRA is “extremely large.”
“The talks are no longer moving us in a productive direction,” the coalition known as AMPTP said. (The trade association represents NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.)
The SAG-AFTRA, short for Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, has been on strike since July 14.
“It is with profound disappointment that we report that industry CEOs have walked away from the negotiating table after refusing to meet our latest offer,” she said in a letter to members early Thursday.
The Actors Union went on strike weeks after the writers’ strike, on May 2. The Writers Guild of America strike ended nearly five months later, on September 27. Members of that union ratified its agreement this week.
The actors’ union and AMPTP said in late September that they would resume negotiations.
“We negotiated with them in good faith, even though last week they made an offer that was, shockingly, less valuable than what they proposed before the strike began,” SAG-AFTRA said in its statement Thursday.
The studio trade association singled out the viewership bonus it said was sought by SAG-AFTRA that the studios say would “create an untenable economic burden.” She said this measure could cost $800 million annually.
SAG-AFTRA accused the studios of “bully tactics” including “intentionally misrepresenting to the press the cost of the above proposal—overstating it by 60%.”
SAG-AFTRA says it needs a “modern contract that addresses modern issues” and wants higher wages, protections surrounding the use of artificial intelligence, and greater participation in the revenue stream, which has eroded remaining traditional payments.
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