SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin gave a small update on the union leadership’s ongoing negotiations with the major Hollywood studios during Sunday night’s Actor Awards.
“Our labor solidarity carried us through a very hard time” he said after thanking the actors guild’s sister unions for their support. “We are back in negotiations with the AMPTP. Everyone is working very hard to achieve a solid deal that we can all be proud of.”
He continued: “As chair of our negotiating committee, I have to say that the support shown in this room and across the industry means everything what we are doing is giving our members a fighting chance to provide for themselves and for their families and allow us all to work in an environment that respects our dignity and the lives and health of our colleagues.”
It’s not much, but it’s something — especially when the two parties agreed to a media blackout that has kept most details about the latest round of bargaining under wraps. SAG-AFTRA began its negotiations on February 9. The guild and the now Greg Hessinger-led AMPTP spent the first day on so-called opening statements and much of the first week presenting their first proposals.
Health and pension plans are the biggest priority for all three guilds in this bargaining cycle. The DGA, WGA and SAG-AFTRA plans have all operated in deficits the last few years to cover rising healthcare and essential living costs amid a dramatic decrease in employment. In return, the AMPTP may be seeking to get the unions to agree to longer contracts, as Deadline exclusively reported.
In his speech on Sunday night, Astin acknowledged “what’s happening in the news,” but didn’t go into details and offered “a sincere prayer for peace.”
“It is an honor to be standing on this stage in this role. So I think I should say my name is Sean Astin, and I’m an actor, and I am the president of SAG-AFTRA. How about a wave to our SAG-AFTRA members joining from watch parties across all 25 of our locals. Important to remember that we are a national union,” he said.
SAG-AFTRA’s current contract expires June 30. The Writers Guild of America East and West are expected to begin negotiating on March 16, followed by the Directors Guild in May, so the actors union has about a month to make a deal. Otherwise, they’ll circle back to the table after the WGA and DGA.