US Screen Actors Guild says producers refuse to return to negotiations to end strike

Washington, July 26 (FN Bureau) The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), the union that represents American TV and film actors, and is currently on a strike against studios, said on Wednesday that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) has refused to negotiate strike termination conditions. “We want to get back to doing the work we love. We are ready to get back to bargaining and have asked the AMPTP to return to the table. They have declined,” SAG-AFTRA said on Twitter. Producers planned to speak with the National Association of Theatre Owners to convince SAG-AFTRA that a long strike could damage the theatrical industry, US media reported.

On July 14, SAG-AFTRA started the strike against AMPTP, which includes studios and streamers such as Amazon, Apple, Disney, Fox, and Netflix. The union has said the other side is unwilling to offer workers a fair deal and protect their livelihoods. The workers are striking for better pay and protections of their images and performances to prevent replacement of human performances by artificial intelligence technology. Former 20th Century Fox and Paramount executive director Barry Diller has said the film industry is approaching an “absolute collapse” if the strikes do not end before September 1.