The Hollywood Actors Guild unsuccessfully breaks off negotiations with the studios

He Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG-AFTRA) announced this Thursday that negotiations to renew the collective agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have ended unsuccessfully. “SAG-AFTRA negotiated in good faith and was eager to reach an agreement, (…) but AMPTP’s responses to the union’s most important proposals they were insulting” said union president Fran Drescher, Efe agency reports.

The union, which represents more than 160,000 actorsannounced that the union’s national board would hold a meeting in the morning to officially approve the launch strike it could cause the entire Hollywood industry to grind to a halt.

The outage would be historic, the first strike in 63 years, and would threaten the Emmy Awards and San Diego Comic Con celebrations.

Stars of the first order like Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep They assured union leaders in a letter sent this week that they were prepared to walk off the job if negotiators failed to reach a “transformational agreement”, on a higher basic wage and guarantees limiting the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

The last time actors went on strike he was against the studios in 1980 for the benefit of home videotapes and pay television, and lasted three months. If a strike is launched, the actors would join protests that the Writers Guild (WGA) began outside studio offices on May 2, undertaking a simultaneous strike for the first time in 63 years.

The only time both unions were on strike at the same time was in 1960, and they got benefits like access to health insurance and pensions out of that fight. But the 100-day strike led by screenwriters in 2007-2008. basics of conflict by focusing most discussions on payment for content distributed over the Internet. Now, the demands of both share similarities in issues such as improving working conditions, fair payment of residual rights by “streaming” platforms and transparency in the process of calculating these amounts, as well as regulation of the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

“The AMPTP has refused to acknowledge that the huge changes in industry and the economy have had a detrimental impact on those working for the studios,” the president continued. Union leaders have been talking to the alliance, which negotiates on behalf of studios and major chains such as Amazon, Apple, Disney and Netflix, since June 7. Just a day before the deadline, SAG-AFTRA announced it was accepting a meeting proposed by Hollywood studios and streaming platforms along with federal mediators.

The emergency request called for the use of neutral agents to help unblock the negotiations, but the union accused AMPTP of “abusing” its trust by releasing to the press a proposal to involve federal mediators before they were aware of it. also.

The beginning of the actors’ strike threatens a crisis in the big party. Without performers, film and television productions that have managed to survive despite the writers’ strike may be forced to cease operations. Actors have been unable to promote pending films and series, or participate in fan meetings, and the situation could lead to a wave of canceled press conferences, red carpets and even the postponement of awards ceremonies.