Unionized Hollywood actors, who were on the brink of a strike, have agreed to involve federal mediators in hopes of reaching a deal before the negotiation deadline on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists said in a statement that “We are committed to the negotiating process and will explore and exhaust every possible opportunity to make a deal, however, we are not confident that the employers have any intention of bargaining toward an agreement.”
If an agreement is not reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the actors have the potential to join the ongoing strike by the Writers Guild of America, which could further impede the already slowed-down production process.
The original contract expiration date was extended to Wednesday at 11:59 p.m., CBS News reports. But in response to rumors that Hollywood leaders were trying to force the federal mediation from behind the scenes, SAG-AFTRA said, “The AMPTP has abused our trust and damaged the respect we have for them in this process.”
“We will not be manipulated by this cynical ploy to engineer an extension when the companies have had more than enough time to make a fair deal,” the statement continued.
The negotiations stem from issues with residual pay from streamers and the threats of artificial intelligence.
