SAG-AFTRA & AMPTP Close
PGage
PGage
The optimism about a deal going into the week curdled a bit, as AMPTP has been slower than expected/hoped to make what Fran Drescher described as a “deal sealing offer.” I recognize this move, and suspect it is a chapter in some book employers use to guide labor negotiations. The Employer seems to think that workers are always so desperate to return that at the last minute they can shave off significant fractions on important aspects of the deal, and members will pressure Union leadership to swallow it so they can start getting paid again.
AMPTP did come back with an offer last evening, raising hopes in some quarters that a deal could get done over the weekend. That could be spin from The Employer, as Union sources seem to be cautioning that their leadership will not even have fully read and analyzed the offer by Monday. Still, by now both sides are familiar enough with the outstanding issues that I would not be shocked that, if the Union found the offer acceptable, they could not indicate a favorable response in principle, pending a more careful lawyerly review of the fine print to make sure The Employer was not trying to sneak any shit in the back door.
The strike continues to cost all sides. Studios are estimated to have already lost $1.5 Billion in 2024 just from the pushing of three big films to 2025 release dates (Mission: Impossible 8, Elio and Snow White), the California economy is estimated to have lost $6.5 Billion to the combined Writers and Actors strike, and of course tens of thousands of people, mostly middle and working class, have gone without pay for almost half a year.
This is a Town that really wants a deal, but nobody wants any advantage they may have gained from all the suffering to slip through their fingers at the last minute because of too much short term focus.
https://deadline.com/2023/11/actors-strike-studios-contract-offer-sent-sag-aftra-1235592535/