Los Angeles, US, Nov 8 (EFE).- The Hollywood actors’ union reached a tentative agreement Wednesday with the major studios that could end the strike that has lasted 118 days.
Picketers gather outside of Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, California, USA, 03 October 2023. EFE-EPA FILE/CAROLINE BREHMAN
The SAG-AFTRA actors’ union committee approved the deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) in a “unanimous” vote Wednesday, and the strike will end at 12.01 am Thursday, the union announced.
However, the agreement still has to be ratified by the union’s board and members.
The studios had insisted that a decision be made as soon as possible and to be able to try to save the television season and advance the 2024 film schedule.
The actors went on strike on July 14 for a range of reasons including better working conditions, increases in wages and residuals remuneration, as well as regulation of artificial intelligence (AI).
On Monday SAG-AFTRA had said that the parties still disagreed on several “essential items” of what the AMPTP called their “last, best and final” offer, and the AMPTP then agreed to make modifications on issues such as AI.
Talks between studios and Hollywood performers intensified more than two weeks ago. Before this, they had approached positions at the end of September, when the Writers Guild of America (WGA) ended its strike, but then another unexpected impasse occurred that cooled relations even further.
The first joint strike in six decades involving SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, which reached an agreement with AMPTP at the end of September has meant losses of 6.5 billion dollars for the Californian economy and the layoffs of 45,000 workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. EFE
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