SAG-AFTRA says the two sides remain “far apart” on key strike issues

SAG-AFTRA advised its members on Monday night that negotiations would resume on Tuesday, but warned that the two sides remained “far apart” on key issues.

The guild and major studios have been negotiating for a week, focusing on issues such as increases in minimum payments, a new residual model in streaming, and artificial intelligence.

“The committee worked independently today. We will meet with the AMPTP on Tuesday,” the union informed its members. “Although the talks over the past week have been productive, we remain far apart on key issues,” he added.

The union asked members to continue putting pressure on the studios by posting on social media and going out forcefully to the picket lines.

The studios warned that unless an agreement was reached this week, it would be impossible for broadcasters to salvage half a season of scripted television. The 2024 summer movie season is also in increasing jeopardy, as more and more films have been postponed until 2025.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s chief negotiator, appeared on picket lines on Monday morning and said he remained “cautiously optimistic” about the talks.

“As long as we keep talking and as long as we move things forward, this is what should happen,” he said. “There has been progress and that is the source of my continued cautious optimism.”

The consortium has sought to create a framework of regulations around the use of artificial intelligence to create “digital doubles.” While the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has said it agrees that performers should give consent and be paid for the use of AI, the union has long maintained that “the devil is in the details.”

Crabtree-Ireland said Monday that the consortium is still pushing to limit AI approval to a single project. Instead, he said, the studios want the approval to be valid for the entire life of the franchise.

The guild also sought to give itself veto power over uses of artificial intelligence, something the studios have resisted.