Striking Hollywood actors pass counteroffer ahead of further talks with studios

SAG-AFTRA members walk the picket line on the 100th day of their ongoing strike outside Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 20, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

Oct 27 (Reuters) – Striking Hollywood actors have made a comprehensive counteroffer to the major studios, the SAG-AFTRA performers’ union said in a post on social media platform X.

Negotiators for the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group representing Walt Disney (DIS.N) Netflix (NFLX.O) and other major media companies, meet again on Friday, the actors union said.

Ahead of Friday’s talks, a group of SAG-AFTRA members published an open letter to the union leadership, urging the negotiating committee to continue fighting for improved compensation, royalties and workplace protections.

“We have not come all this way to cave now,” wrote the group calling itself Members In Solidarity. “We have not gone without work, without pay, and walked picket lines for months just to give up on everything we’ve been fighting for.”

The latest counteroffer submitted by the actors union on Thursday comes after media companies and the union representing striking U.S. actors returned to the bargaining table on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, negotiations between Hollywood studios and SAG-AFTRA were suspended as the two sides clashed over streaming revenue, the use of artificial intelligence and other issues at the core of a three-month work stoppage.

Members of SAG-AFTRA, which represents 160,000 actors and other media professionals, have been on strike since July. The work stoppage has scrambled next year’s film slate and delayed the return of primetime television comedies and dramas. It also has created hardships for crew members, who have been out of work for months.

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