Although federal mediation is officially being brought in to aid in talks between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP to avert a potential actor’s strike, it looks like no moves are being made for the WGA writer’s strike.
In a shocking report from Deadline on Tuesday, industry insiders and executives revealed their strategy to essentially stall talks with the WGA until the fall and until they’re borderline homeless and left with little to no money.
“Not Halloween precisely, but late October, for sure, is the intention,” said a high-ranking producer close to the AMPTP. Added another: “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.” Well damn, tell them how y’all really feel.
The logic behind this tactic hinges on the AMPTP’s belief that the WGA will go back to their leadership and push for negotiation talks to begin again with the AMPTP as they near destitution. However, since the strike began, several public posts on social media from WGA members and captains have been asking the AMPTP to come back to the table with a fair deal—though the AMPTP insists “there has been no direct offer from the WGA leadership to resume talks.”
This cruel revelation comes just before the SAG-AFTRA clock strikes midnight on their contract talks with the AMPTP and actors learn whether or not they’ll be striking alongside the WGA. However, on Tuesday, there seemed to be some sort of forward movement as SAG-AFTRA “agreed to the AMPTP’s last-minute request for federal mediation and has reaffirmed the negotiating committee’s dedication to securing a fair deal by the expiration of the extended contract at 11:59 p.m. PT on Wednesday, July 12.”
In a statement responding to this new development, SAG-AFTRA said:
“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.
“Furthermore, we condemn the tactic outlined in today’s inaccurate Variety piece naming the CEOs of several entertainment conglomerates as the force behind the request for mediation; information that was leaked to the press by the CEOs and their ‘anonymous sources’ before our negotiators were even told of the request for mediation. 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.
The statement concluded: “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.”
Additionally, as a contingency plan, the Television Academy and Fox are trying to decide whether or not to postpone the 75th annual Emmys from its September 18 date to later in the fall or at the top of 2024 if the actors do go on strike. The TA’s preference is for the fall, citing the fact that it would be the first major award show after strikes are hopefully settled. Fox, however, is aiming for January 2024, citing their already robust slate of content in November, per Variety.