hollywood actors strike

Actors who work on movies and TV shows in Hollywood may go on strike as early as Monday if they cannot come to an agreement with studios on a new contract. The current contract expires at midnight on July 1.

• The actors, represented by the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union, are negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) which represents the major studios and streaming services.

• The key issues in the negotiations are increasing pay for actors who work on streaming service projects like Netflix shows. Currently actors get lower residual payments for streaming work compared to broadcast and cable TV.

• Actors union leaders say streaming services have become hugely profitable but actor pay has not kept up. The studios argue that streaming wages are already higher than they were and want to avoid a two-tier system with higher rates for streaming.

• If the two sides cannot come to an agreement by the July 1 deadline, the union has authorized its leaders to call for a strike. However, a strike is seen as a last resort and both sides may opt to extend their negotiations.