With the joyous news that the WGA is officially off of strike and writer’s rooms across the country can return to business as usual, there’s another glimmer of hope for the domestic entertainment industry. SAG-AFTRA will also be returning to the bargaining table this week. Blake & Wang P.A.’s top entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake, covers the news.
Bargaining Resumes Monday
As of Monday, October 2, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP will return to the bargaining table in the hopes of making a final resolution to the strikes. No doubt the union is hoping the gains made by the WGA on sticking points like the use of AI in the entertainment industry will help them reach a deal in alignment with the hopes of their 160,000-strong union, too. These were sufficient to bring the 148-day writer’s strike to a positive conclusion last week, also ending the first dual strike by both unions since the Kennedy administration.
The SAG-AFTRA Strike
The SAG-AFTRA strike itself is heading towards 80 days long at this point, beginning on July 14 this year. To date, both parties have failed to reach an acceptable deal over the new Minimum Basic Agreement to be in place on all AMPTP productions for the next few years.
While the resolution of the WGA strike will no doubt bring some hope to the table, it is worth noting that despite some shared concerns- namely, the use of AI and residuals- SAG-AFTRA does have individual concerns that will need to be addressed before a final contract agreement can be reached. With strikes pending in the video game sector, too, a quick and decisive negotiation has never been more critical.
Will we finally see a negotiation that both parties can live with? For now, we can only wait and see, but let’s hope we can share some additional good news next week.
