Leaders of SAG-AFTRA, the union representing onscreen performers, unanimously voted on June 25 to send strike authorization ballots to its members unless a new deal is reached by Friday, June 30, when the current contract expires.
The decision follows a month of unsuccessful negotiations with studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, in response to what the union’s national board has called “outrageous rollbacks that cut to the core of our basic terms and conditions.”
“Your SAG-AFTRA negotiating team has been hard at work bargaining with the major studios and networks represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for a new three-year contract covering motion pictures, television, and new media,” said Gabrielle Carteris, the guild’s president, and David White, its national executive director, in a statement released on the guild’s website. “We had hoped to be sharing the good news that we had reached a tentative agreement with the AMPT but, unfortunately, their unwillingness to come to a fair and equitable agreement means we are coming to you with very different news.”
You can read the full statement on the SAG-AFTRA website here.
In order for the strike authorization to pass, it would require an affirmative vote of 75 percent of all who voted. That would not, however, automatically render a strike, though it would greatly increase the likelihood as the union will be working contract-free beginning July 1.
The strike, of course, also hinders on the outcome of continued talks between the union and the studios, that will be ongoing throughout the week.