SAG Strikers Energized After WGA Deal: ‘Gave Me Hope’
By Movieguide® Contributor
SAG actors have renewed energy after the studios’ deal with writers shows that they are willing to work with their demands.
“It definitely gave me hope,” actor Ernie Hudson said about the WGA deal. “It gave me encouragement that the execs are at least willing to try.”
The AMPTP and SAG began renegotiations earlier this week. A joint memo from the unions stated that “several executives from AMPTP member companies will be in attendance.”
This is good news for actors hoping to return to work as studio executives attended meetings with WGA negotiators shortly before their deal was cut, suggesting a deal with the actors may be close.
“I want to see them there and I want to see them be serious about a deal,” Hudson said. “Negotiations are difficult because there’s a lot of posturing, but I hope we’ve already done that and we are now ready to wrap this thing up.”
Emmy-winning actress Beau Bridges added, “We’re getting close to some serious negotiations, and you see it in the heightened energy here today.”
“We have all felt that if they set the tone and get what they were fighting for, it sets up a fair playing ground for us,” actress Lisa Vidal said about the writers’ contract.
The SAG has also been emboldened by the WGA members who have continued to picket on the actors’ behalf, joining the SAG picket lines. Earlier this year, WGA leadership encouraged writers to join the actors in solidarity even after they cut a deal with the studios. This fellowship was felt in July when actors joined the writers’ picket lines after their strike began.
“Seeing that SAG is meeting with the AMPTP on Monday made me feel extremely motivated to come and support them because SAG is out here today showing [the studios] the same thing we showed them, which is that this tenacity and solidarity is unbreakable,” said writer and WGA member Ben Flores.
Actors have much to be optimistic about, as many of their major concerns overlap with the issues the writers resolved in their deal. Better residual pay on streaming services, for example, was resolved in a favorable way for the writers, charting a course for the actors to follow.
However, not every issue has a one-to-one translation from actors to writers. AI, for example, was resolved for the writers, allowing them to use the technology if they wanted without any detriment to their careers. Meanwhile, actors will have a harder time figuring out how the technology can benefit them without causing concerns for job security.
Nonetheless, studios will be eager to wrap up the actors’ strike in the upcoming weeks as projects begin to barrel down the production pipeline.
Movieguide® previously reported:
The writers’ strike officially ended on Wednesday as union members returned to work following the ratification of the proposed contract.
The WGA and AMPTP came to an “exceptional” deal on Sunday, addressing the concerns of writers across every sector of the union’s membership. With the negotiation committee’s enthusiastic support, the deal was approved by the WGA West Board and WGA East Council before being sent to the union’s over 11,000 members for ratification.
CNBC reports that the deal will go into effect Jan. 1 and last until May 2026.
The agreement increases the minimum pay for most members by 5%, followed by a 4% increase next year and a 3.5% increase the year after, per NBC News.
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