UK equity coach Paul Fleming Wads – Deadline

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Exclusive: “We will not use the UK as a back door to undermine the SAG-AFTRA dispute,” said Equity, leader of the British Actors Union.

Speaking exclusively to Deadline ahead of Equity’s first rallies to support the cause of American actors, Paul Fleming denied that the labor measure, which has just entered its second week across the pond, will be a boon for its members.

Much of the talk internationally has focused on whether more international actors will be able to get work while American talent tools and some US-mandated shows film internationally such as Dragon house And alien Go ahead british talent. But Equity said, for one, that it would unequivocally support SAG’s refusal to release new Global Rule One additions during the strike, and while it declined to comment on specific programs, Fleming noted that “access to American talent is drying up” affecting the entire global industry.

We will use all possible and legal means to provide support [the strike]He added, “We will not use the UK as a backdoor to undermine their dispute.”

Since calling the strike, Fleming said he has had a “messy and complicated” time helping his base of 50,000 members understand the implications for their projects, even though the union issued clear guidance on the first night of the conflict.

Anti-union laws in the UK mean that SAG members who are currently working under an equity contract are bound to move on because they have no legal protection if they disable the tools.

While he called these laws “draconian”, Fleming said he was not aware of any British representative refusing to act in Solidarity.

“There are people who want to show solidarity with their brothers and sisters across the pond in other ways, and that’s a difficult conversation,” he added. The same applies to public sector workers here. People want to show solidarity with nurses or train drivers, and they are also prevented from taking action to support them.”

However, the stock issue is more than just supportive of its US counterparts. The guild’s TV and film contract with UK trade body Pact for producers and broadcasters is running out and negotiations will begin in earnest soon.

‘substantially identical’ demands

Fleming stressed that Equity’s main demands for change, which have been presented to the Pact, are “largely identical” to the SAG, where the British federation demanded a 15% wage increase, reporting provisions on secondary payments – similar to the residual flow – and provisions on AI.

So this disagreement has a tremendous impact on Ma [British] The producers are looking forward to doing it over the next year,” Fleming added.

With future British negotiations in mind, Fleming spoke to SAG officials every other day before the strike and now speaks to them daily to ensure that the pair are in touch.

“Equity and SAG are independent of each other but we don’t want to be sitting in different rooms being told different things by the same people.” [during negotiations],” he added.

“Our agreements are as strong as SAG and we would expect no less. There is no denying that SAG is the largest and most influential entertainment union in the world, but we are undoubtedly number two. Our agreements form the basis of the vast majority of content shot in Europe and the UK.”

AI provisions will form a large part of these negotiations, and work on the impact of the much-discussed topic on TV and film began at a global meeting in London last September, when SAG and Equity exchanged ideas. Equity has since developed an AI toolkit that, among other things, attempts to prevent performers from cloning their performances. “We started with the broad brush and now SAG is going all the way into the details,” said Fleming.

He was speaking in advance of dual stock rallies in London and Manchester which will feature a number of high-profile actors including Rob Delaney and Simon Pegg, along with equity officials and Labor politician John McDonnell. The marches will start in three hours.