Posts tagged SAG-AFTRA
A Big Year for Labor, But Not for Reality TV Workers
January 1, 2024 // Non-fiction field and story producers have cheered gains made by the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA in their deals with studios, but also have noticed that they’re one of the only departments unprotected by a union even on unionized sets.
Philly workers got organized in 2023. Look back on this year’s strikes, walkouts, and union campaigns.
December 30, 2023 // As worker organizing activity heated up toward the end of 2022, with new unions and strikes grabbing headlines through the fall, labor leaders predicted 2023 would be an even bigger year for employees seizing on their leverage.
Commentary: The existential threat AI poses to the Screen Actors Guild
December 30, 2023 // Work is already drying up for those lower-end actors for other reasons. The move to streaming series has resulted in TV series having shorter seasons. SAG, in short, is likely to start losing members as work for extras and bit part players simply dries up and people drop out of the profession. On the flipside, this will mean Hollywood will have need of even more computer nerds – animation specialists, motion capture technicians, computer color and lighting specialists and so on. So, Hollywood will be employing more people in other areas. Given the technical skill levels required these may be better-paying jobs than the acting ones. But they almost certainly won’t be actors’ union members.
Unions made 2023 the year of the strike. What will happen next?
December 28, 2023 // Potential workplace disputes dot next year’s calendar, even if few approach the size of the high-profile confrontations of 2023. Contracts covering 60,000 film and television crew workers are set to expire in July; while an agreement concerning 220,000 postal workers will come up for renewal in September 2024, according to an analysis from the pro-worker outlet Labor Notes.
From Hollywood to auto work, organized labor is flexing its muscles. Where do unions stand today?
November 9, 2023 // There are also limits for organizers under current labor law. That means that what worked in auto workers' labor campaign, for example, may not look the same or be possible in other industries. Larger, more established unions typically have more bargaining power — and that's reflected in new contract wins seen today. “We have a labor law that was designed in the era in the 30s and 40s, when auto plants of 10,000 workers (were organizing)," he said. Starbucks is “split into these small coffee shops of 15 workers. ... They need to join together to have any kind of bargaining power against a big employer. But our labor law isn’t structured to help them do that,” Colvin said. Service jobs can also be hard to organize due to part-time work and high turnover rates. The same can be said for Amazon warehouses, where there have been pushes for unions.
The Actors Strike Is Over, Ending Hollywood’s Long Limbo
November 9, 2023 //
Hollywood actors strike: SAG-AFTRA says studios’ latest offer ‘isn’t enough’
November 8, 2023 //
Walt Disney Animation Studios Production Workers Vote to Unionize With IATSE
November 5, 2023 // In a National Labor Relations Board ballot count, 63 production employees (or 93%) — including production coordinators, production managers and production supervisors — voted to join the Animation Guild. Out of a total of 68 voters, five workers voted against. If neither of the parties files an objection to the result in five days, the union will be certified and labor and management can begin bargaining a first contract.
Fran Drescher Says George Clooney, Et. Al Proposal To Lift SAG-AFTRA Dues Cap Wouldn’t Be Legal
October 20, 2023 // Drescher outlined why the proposal wouldn’t work. “We are a federally regulated labor union and the only contributions that can go into our pension and health funds must be from the employer. So what we are fighting for in terms of benefits has to remain in this contract.”
George Clooney and Other A-Listers Reportedly Diving Into SAG-AFTRA Strike Talks
October 19, 2023 // On October 11, the AMPTP announced that it suspended conversations with the actors union, saying that “the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction.” The studio pointed to SAG-AFTRA revenue share, which seeks to create a new pool of money for actors whose work appears on streaming services. The proposal, which the AMPTP found unreasonable, would charge streaming services a fixed amount per subscriber. That amount, the studios say, would result in the studios hemorrhaging over $800 million a year, which would create an “untenable economic burden.”