With the actor’s strike deadline now only a day away, SAG-AFTRA has agreed to federal mediation in order to break the bargaining deadlock with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
In a statement, the union said that its negotiating committee has agreed to the AMPTP’s request for federal mediation and has “reaffirmed the negotiating committee’s dedication to securing a fair deal” by the expiration of the extended contract.
Said expiration takes place at 11:59pm US-PT on Wednesday, July 12th and SAG-AFTRA is declining a potential second extension – meaning said mediators have only tomorrow to sort this out in order to avoid a strike.
In a strong statement on Tuesday evening, the union says:
“We will not be distracted from negotiating in good faith to secure a fair and just deal by the expiration of our agreement. We are committed to the negotiating process and will explore and exhaust every possible opportunity to make a deal, however we are not confident that the employers have any intention of bargaining toward an agreement.
The AMPTP has abused our trust and damaged the respect we have for them in this process. We will not be manipulated by this cynical ploy to engineer an extension when the companies have had more than enough time to make a fair deal.
SAG-AFTRA represents performers. We are here to get a deal that ensures our members can earn a living wage in our expansive industry we help make possible with our work. The AMPTP can make this happen at any time. They know what our members need and when they bring that to the table, we will be listening, but it’s important to know – time is running out.”
SAG-AFTRA entered negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on June 7th with a 98% yes vote on its strike authorization. Short of a serious turnaround in the next 24 hours, an actor’s strike will potentially shut down many major international film and TV productions worldwide.
Source: THR
