Actors Prepare for First Strike Since 1980

Hollywood film and TV actors could be joining writers on the picket lines in the very near future after talks between the actors' union and studios and streaming services ended without a deal. The Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists says its national board will vote Thursday morning on whether to declare a strike. It would be the first actors' strike since 1980 and the first time actors and writers have been on strike at the same time since 1960, when Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild, Deadline reports. A strike will bring an immediate halt to film and TV production, which was already curtailed by the Writers Guild of America strike that began in early May, reports Variety.

In a statement, the union said that after four weeks of negotiations, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, "remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on the key issues that are essential to SAG-AFTRA members."The union said its negotiating committee had unanimously recommended strike action to the national board. The AMPTP, which represents studios and streaming services, said it was "deeply disappointed" that the union has "decided to walk away from negotiations." Last month, union members voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike if a new contract wasn't reached by the time the old one expired on June 30. During negotiations, the two sides agreed to extend the deadline by 12 days.

Union president Fran Drescher said the AMPTP "refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us." She said that the responses to some of the union's most important proposals were " insulting and disrespectful." The main issues being negotiated include the unregulated use of artificial intelligence and the effects of the growth of streaming services on residual pay, the AP reports. Matt Damon said Wednesday that many actors rely on residual payments to get across the $26,000 per year threshold for health insurance. "And if those residual payments dry up, so does their health care," he said. "And that's absolutely unacceptable." (More actors strike stories.)