Unionized Hollywood actors on the brink of a strike have agreed to allow a last-minute intervention by federal mediators, but they doubt a deal will be reached before a Wednesday night bargaining deadline.
“We are engaged in the negotiation process and will explore and exhaust all possible opportunities to reach an agreement, but we are not convinced that the employers intend to negotiate towards an agreement,” said Tuesday evening in a statement from the Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Radio and Television (SAG-AFTRA).
The actors could join the Writers Guild of America, already on strike, and halt already slowed production processes if no agreement is reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The parties agreed to an extension before the contract’s original expiration date of June 30, setting it for this Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
The growing pessimism surrounding the talks appeared to turn into open hostility when SAG-AFTRA released a statement on Tuesday evening.
The latest follows a report in Variety that a group of Hollywood CEOs were behind the mediation request, which the union says was leaked before its negotiators were told. demand.
The AMPTP declined to comment through a representative. It’s unclear whether the federal mediators have agreed to participate, but such an intervention would likely require more time than the remaining hours on the contract.
“The AMPTP has abused our trust and undermined the respect we have for them in this process,” the SAG-AFTRA statement said. We will not be manipulated by this cynical ploy to engineer an extension after the companies have had more than enough time to reach a fair deal. »
The discussions stumble in particular on remuneration and the threat of an unregulated use of artificial intelligence.