SAG Contract Expires

The actors analyze a last-minute offer.

The contract between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) was set to expire at 12:01am PDT on Tuesday, July 1. Both groups have agreed to work under the old deal until the terms of a new contract can be worked out. The AMPTP gave a final offer to the actors several hours before the deadline, and they are set to meet with SAG on Wednesday to discuss it.

Uncertainty about the possibility of a strike has "virtually shut down" film production according to the AMPTP. "In short, our final offer to SAG represents a final hope for avoiding further work stoppages and getting everyone back to work," the producers said in a statement. The actors' guild is currently analyzing the 43-page deal and will prepare a formal response.

"This offer does not appear to address some key issues important to actors," executive director Doug Allen, the guild's chief negotiator, said in a statement. The offer was similar to the contracts eventually agreed upon by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), SAG's sister union. The AFTRA deal is still tentative, and results of the ratification vote are not due until July 8. SAG has campaigned for the 44,000 guild members who are also in AFTRA to reject the contract.

There has been no strike authorization vote, and SAG president Alan Rosenberg said there were no immediate plans to call for a strike. "Any talk about a strike or a management lockout at this point is simply a distraction," Rosenberg said. Jonathan Handel, a former lawyer for the WGA, does not believe the guild will accept the deal. "SAG says it's reviewing the offer, but in fact what we can expect is a thorough rejection," he said. "This really is a situation where we're looking at a bit of a stalemate." For the time being, the actors' guild is calling for its members to continue to work and attend auditions as usual.

The original news is from AFP and the Associated Press.

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