Members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) have denied plans for an immediate strike against Hollywood studios despite their contract’s expiration on Monday.
Union bosses have been involved in crucial contract talks with film and TV studio bosses to prevent another strike similar to the Writers Guild of America’s walkout, which brought Hollywood to a standstill from November until February.
Actors have threatened walkouts at the time of their contract’s expiration if talks between the unions and major film studios failed to resolve a dispute over pay and working conditions.
But despite the lack of resolution, SAG president and working actor Alan Rosenberg has insisted a strike is not forthcoming in the immediate future.
He says, “We have taken no steps to initiate a strike-authorization vote.”
The SAG members dismissed a previously agreed-upon deal between studio bosses and members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)–suggesting it undermines their own contract.
Members of the union called upon heavyweights Jack Nicholson and Ben Stiller to urge AFTRA leaders to reject the deal just last week.
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