After a week of public disagreements, negotiations between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and major studios remain at a standstill as of Monday, with no significant progress achieved.
Formal discussions have not occurred since August 18th, when the Alliance of Motion Picture and Producers (AMPTP) turned down WGA’s counteroffer from August 15th. On August 22nd, four CEOs met with counteroffers of WGA leaders to encourage them to accept the studios’ counter-proposal made on August 11th.
However, steps have yet to be taken since then to resume negotiations. Both sides recently seem yet to believe that the other side should initiate the next move.
The AMPTP publicly unveiled their counter proposal on August 22nd, aiming to showcase their willingness to make concessions and to exert pressure on WGA’s leadership. The WGA criticized this approach, accusing it of attempting to obstruct the negotiations.
The union characterized the AMPTP’s offer as “insufficient in many regards” and highlighted several limitations on various issues. For instance, the studios proposed a guaranteed rewriting opportunity for screenwriters but only for “original” screenplays under a specific income threshold. The WGA argued that this provision would only benefit a “minor” number of writers.
In their response on August 15th, the WGA mainly adhered to their original demands, albeit with minor numerical adjustments on certain items.
The WGA strike has persisted for 119 days, short of the two most extended strikes in the guild’s history in 1960 and 1988.
Additionally, there’s no indication of renewed talks with SAG-AFTRA, which has been on strike for 46 days. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s executive director, mentioned last week that there had been informal discussions about returning to negotiations, but no official communication with the AMPTP has occurred.
In an email sent on Sunday, SAG-AFTRA informed its members that the negotiation committee is prepared to resume talks “at any moment.”
“Regrettably, as the recent updates from the WGA negotiations indicate, it seems that the AMPTP remains unwilling to offer the necessary concessions for an equitable resolution to end the strikes,” the union stated.
SAG-AFTRan has encountered significant internal resistance due to its decision to grant “interim agreements” to independent producers. These agreements allow productions to continue amidst the strike if they agree to adhere to the union’s latest terms. Some members view these agreements as detrimental to the strike’s unity.
In the Sunday message, SAG-AFTRA urged its members to refrain from commenting negatively about actors endorsing approved independent projects at festivals.
“Whether from inside or outside our organization, comments of this nature fail to support performers, and by dividing us, they inadvertence the AMPTP’s interests. The more projects produced under the Interim Agreement, the weaker the AMPTP’s position becomes. Therefore, let’s support our fellow performers who are actively working,” the union emphasized.
To date, more than 300 projects have been granted SAG-AFTRA agreements.
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