Allseries Blog

 

There’s still no end in sight for the Hollywood strikes

By Chloe Melas and Daniel Arkin

The summer movie rush is over, the fall television season is underway — and the fierce labor disputes that have upended Hollywood are dragging on with no end in sight.

Here’s where things stand.

The negotiations

The unions representing Hollywood’s striking screenwriters and actors remain miles apart from the big studios on key issues, meaning that the majority of entertainment productions are still on hold and most rank-and-file members remain out of work. The battle pits the two unions — the Writers Guild of America and the actors guild, SAG-AFTRA — against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a trade group that bargains for the major studios and streaming services. (The group represents NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.)

The two sides are not meeting regularly, according to sources. SAG-AFTRA has not heard from the AMPTP since the union’s members announced on July 13, nearly two months ago, that they were going on strike, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. (The AMPTP was asked for confirmation, and the group has not provided comment.) The union last week re-elected its president, Fran Drescher, who has publicly railed against what she describes as corporate greed in the streaming era.

The actors union hasn’t heard from the studios since its members went on strike nearly two months ago, a source said, and there’s no imminent deal for the writers union, either.

The actors union hasn’t heard from the studios since its members went on strike nearly two months ago, a source said, and there’s no imminent deal for the writers union, either.