#SAG-AFTRA to Start Talks With Producers on June 7

SAG-AFTRA has set a date to begin talks with producers over a new contract.

The performers’ union set June 7 as the start date for negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, it said in a joint statement with the AMPTP on Thursday. The union’s current pact expires on June 30, and its talks were widely expected to begin earlier that month.

“Both the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA are approaching this process as an opportunity to engage in thoughtful and interactive conversations that result in a mutually-beneficial deal,” SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP added in their statement.

The date positions SAG-AFTRA, the industry’s largest union, as the last labor group to negotiate in a series of pivotal talks occurring this spring and summer. The Writers Guild of America has been locked in talks with studios and streamers since March 20 prior to its contract coming up on May 1 — negotiations that some in the industry fear could result in a strike, as the writers are looking to significantly increase compensation in the streaming era. (WGA members are currently participating in a strike authorization vote that could grant union leaders permission to strike if they so choose once their contract expires.)

The Directors Guild of America is following the writers, with their talks beginning on May 10 prior to its June 30 expiration date. In its communications with members, the DGA has signaled that this round of talks will be pivotal and tricky — “one of the most difficult and complex we have faced in many years,” in the words of guild leaders.

More to come.