- The actors' union hit an impasse in its negoatiations with Hollywood companies and will go on strike Friday.
- SAG-AFTRA's negotiating board and national board voted unanimously to recommend a strike.
The union representing 160,000 actors will go on strike July 14 after contract talks failed to reach an agreement.
It will mark the first time in 43 years that SAG-AFTRA members stop working on TV and film productions. And not since 1960 have both the actors and writers' unions taken labor action at the same time.
A midnight deadline for a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – which represents major studios and streaming services including Warner Bros, Disney, and Netflix — passed without an agreement after four weeks of bargaining, SAG-AFTRA said in a statement.
The union's negotiating committee voted unanimously to recommend a strike, on which its national board will vote Thursday morning.
The statement cited the producers' "intransigence and delay tactics" as reasons for recommending a strike.
"SAG-AFTRA negotiated in good faith and was eager to reach a deal that sufficiently addressed performer needs, but the AMPTP's responses to the union's most important proposals have been insulting and disrespectful of our massive contributions to this industry," said the union's president, Fran Drescher. She is best known for starring in the '90s sitcom "The Nanny."
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's national executive director and chief negotiator, said: "The studios and streamers have implemented massive unilateral changes in our industry's business model, while at the same time insisting on keeping our contracts frozen in amber."
The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May 2 after also failing to agree a new contract with the AMPTP.
It had sought a higher share of compensation from streaming services, and limits on the use of AI.
Many actors and writers have seen their incomes significantly reduced because streaming does not generate residuals, or payments, in the same way as they have done when shows are rerun on TV networks.
July 13, 3:15 p.m. PT: This story has been updated to reflect SAG-AFTRA's official vote and decision to strike.