United States: The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) has suspended negotiations with SAG-AFTRA, the union representing approximately 160,000 actors.
“After meaningful conversations, it is clear that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction,” the AMPTP said in a statement.
According to the statement, the suspension came after the actors’ union presented its latest proposal to the AMPTP.
SAG-AFTRA started their strike in July 2023. Last week, after the Writers Guild of America (WGA) concluded its work stoppage, the union resumed negotiations with the studios.
The WGA deal gave hope for a swift resolution with actors. However, on Wednesday, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) announced the suspension of talks after reviewing the latest union proposal.
The writers’ strike concluded in late September, and on October 9, members of the Writers Guild of America approved a new contract with Hollywood and television studios.
The strike was the first since 1980 that its members have stopped working on movie and television productions.
SAG-AFTRA, in a letter to members, stated that they had negotiated sincerely with the studios. However, they expressed surprise that the offer presented by the studios last week was less valuable than what was proposed before the strike began.
As per the union negotiators, they’re really disappointed to say that the top industry leaders have left the negotiation discussions without responding to their most recent proposal.