SAG-AFTRA has broken down its position behind the interim deals, with leadership explaining that they are a critical part of its strategy to “undermine the production schedules and time of AMPTP companies and ensure they get back to the table.”
In a message to members sent on Wednesday, chairwoman Fran Drescher and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland say the agreements are designed to allow “labourers, artists and crew members the opportunity to pay their bills” by working in independent productions and prove that the terms proposed by the union are reasonable.
“Our interim agreements are literally the opposite of ‘waivers,’” the message reads. “No passes, exceptions or waivers are granted to anyone. Productions must agree to all of our terms or that job will be cancelled.”
Drescher and Crabtree-Ireland detail that the approach “maintains our strength, solidarity and advantage with the AMPTP until they cede to our deal.” They add: “These interim agreements show that the terms we proposed to the AMPTP are not ‘unrealistic.’ they are fair. And if these independent productions can agree with them, then billion and trillion dollar companies should be able to too!”
Approximately 140 productions have obtained provisional agreements, such as the one produced by Kevin Costner the gray houseby Ishana Night Shyamalan The watchersand A24 death of a unicorn. They allow independently financed films to continue if they meet the terms of SAG-AFTRA. But independent producers have also had questions about who qualifies since the deals were issued.
Terms of the deal that productions must abide by include an 11 percent increase in the minimum wage for actors, higher contributions to health and pension funds, revenue-sharing demands and guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence, among others. others.
To qualify, the union must be able to determine that a production is “truly independently produced.” A variety of factors enter into the analysis, including whether foreign unions or local labor laws are involved.
