SAG goes on strike as studios & actors fail to agree on contract

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing working actors in the motion picture and television industry (AMPTP), is on strike. After the parties failed to reach an agreement before their previous contract expired, the strike is set to begin on the 14th of July at midnight. The SAG strike adds to the ongoing labor upheaval in Hollywood; the Writers Guild of America (WGA) remains on strike after negotiations with AMPTP over its own members’ contract lapsed in May.

SAG-AFTRA’s strike will prevent actors from working with studios for their projects. This includes but is not limited to, television, podcasts and radio. This means that anything currently in production will be forced to halt until the two parties can agree to a new contract — without actors, there’s nothing to shoot. The actors will stop participating in promotional events such as press conferences, movie premiers and Hot Ones.

AMPTP condemned the labor action in a statement, saying, “A strike is certainly not the outcome we hoped for as studios cannot operate without the performers that bring our TV shows and films to life. The Union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry.”

Recent major actors’ guilds strikes have been rare. SAG struck in 1986 over contract revisions, but the action lasted just 14 hours. SAG’s 1980 had more impact, stretching on for three months and three days. Last time SAG and WGA went on strike together was in 1960.

While the full results of the SAG-AFTRA strike are impossible to know, one thing that’s almost certain are delays to movie and TV shows on the horizon. Some projects have already been hit with delays due to the WGA strike, but that has mostly been limited to movies and series that weren’t in production yet and were still being written. With actors not working, no series that’s in production will be able to continue without a ratified contract.

The strike will also have an effect on movies that are scheduled further in the future, as actors tend to return to the projects they worked on initially, instead of moving onto new ones.

Despite the strikes, SAG-AFTRA representatives and AMPTP will continue to bargain in the days, weeks and months ahead in hope of reaching an agreement on a contract.

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