Labor & Workforce

US actors guild won’t grant permits to WGA agreement projects

Los Angeles, United States, Aug 14 (EFE).- Hollywood’s Screen Actors Guild said Monday it would no longer grant interim agreements to independent projects written under the collective Writers Guild agreement.

“We have been advised by the (writers’ guild) that this modification will assist them in executing their strike strategy, and we believe it does not undermine the utility and effectiveness of ours. It is a win-win change,” read the statement issued through the official website of the WGA guild.

The decision comes after members of the union, on strike since Jul. 14, questioned the approval of these projects, considering them actions that weakened their cause and that of scriptwriters, also on strike since May 2.

The SAG-AFTRA said the interim permits had emerged as one of the alternatives to “interests of our members and members of sister unions,” and that these licenses have been granted only to independent producers who have agreed to all labor union demands.

So far, the group has accepted the production of more than 200 titles that have no relationship with the Alliance of Film and Television Producers, representing large studios such as Netflix, HBO, Sony or Warner Bros among others.

Neither the writers’ nor the actors’ guild have been able to reach an agreement with the alliance after the writers broke off talks on May 1 and the actors met a similar fate on July 13.

On Aug. 11, American newspaper Los Angeles Times said the writers’ guild had received a new contract proposal from the alliance that made progress on its offer, but that the conciliation of both parties was still far away.

The strike has paralyzed a large part of the entertainment industry and has had strong economic repercussions inside and outside the audiovisual sector.

The break also recently led the organizers of the Emmy Awards to postpone their ceremony to Jan. 15, 2024, hoping that, by then, the conflict between the interpreters and screenwriters with the alliance would find an end.

Both the alliance and the writers’ guild seek improvements in the salaries of their members – especially concerning remuneration for content distribution on streaming platforms – and that the uses of artificial intelligence be regulated, among other issues. EFE

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