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#Oppenheimer left the premiere to ‘go and write their pickets’ and join the strike pic.twitter.com/rc2SaSxcfkSAG-AFTRA formally announced its first film and television strike since 1980 at a press conference at its Los Angeles headquarters on Thursday.“From the time negotiations began on June 7, SAG-AFTRA staff and the members of our negotiating committee have worked overtime devoting their evenings, weekends and holidays to achieving a deal that would ensure a sustainable future for the acting profession,” chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said.

formally announcing an actors’ strike and officially putting Hollywood at a production standstill, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher gave a rousing opening salvo of a speech that exclaimed that “the jig is up” for Hollywood studios’ continued abuses towards its labor workers. “You people are crazy — why are you doing this?” she said while recounting the weeks of negotiations that have left many in the union feeling “insulted.”“From the time negotiations began on June 7, SAG-AFTRA staff and the members of our negotiating committee have worked overtime devoting their evenings, weekends and holidays to achieving a deal that would ensure a sustainable future for the acting profession,” chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said before handing the mic to Drescher. “But despite our team’s efforts, the AMPTP has remained steadfast in its commitment to devaluing the work of our members.”The strike will begin late Thursday at midnight.Read Drescher’s fiery speech in full below.

be joining Hollywood writers on the picket line beginning Friday, July 14.Negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), which represent the majority of actors in film and television, and major Hollywood studios, who are being represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), fell through after the Wednesday, July 12 deadline of 11:59 p.m. Pacific time passed without resolution.Actors will join writers on the picket line starting Friday morning. This will mark the first time the actors and writers will be striking at the same time since 1960.Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director/chief negotiator, made the strike announcement at a Thursday press conference following a national board meeting to approve the work stoppage. Crabtree-Ireland said talks with the AMPTP left the union «with no choice» but to move forward with a strike.«It came with great sadness that we came to this crossroads.

SAG-AFTRA is officially on strike.

Leaders of a Hollywood’s actors union voted Thursday to join screenwriters in the first joint strike in more than six decades, shutting down production across the entertainment industry after talks for a new contract with studios and streaming services broke down.Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, executive director of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, said at a news conference that the union leadership voted for the work stoppage hours after their contract expired and talks broke off with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers representing employers including Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others.“A strike is an instrument of last resort,” he said. Union leaders said at a news conference that they voted unanimously for a strike to begin at midnight.

officially on strike.The SAG-AFTRA national board met Thursday to formally approve a strike after negotiations fell apart between the actors' union and major Hollywood studios and streamers, who are represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The deadline to reach a new agreement expired Wednesday, July 12 at 11:59 p.m.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA announced Thursday that it is on strike against the film and TV companies, marking only the second time in Hollywood history that actors have joined writers on the picket lines. The SAG-AFTRA national board held its meeting on Thursday morning and voted unanimously to approve a strike recommendation forwarded by the negotiating committee, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator of SAG-AFTRA, said during a press conference. “Union members should withhold their labor until a fair contract can be achieved,” he told the room. “They have left us with no alternative.”

SAG-AFTRA’s negotiations for a new contract are making headway “in some areas” but not in others, Fran Drescher, the guild’s president, said in an interview today on ABC’s Good Morning America.  

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A group of more than 400 actors — including Oscar winners Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Rami Malek — are urging SAG-AFTRA leaders to take a harder line as contract talks reach a critical point. The members sent an internal letter Tuesday to the union’s negotiating committee and the leadership. They emphasized that “we are prepared to strike if it comes to that.” “And we are concerned by the idea that SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not,” they continued. The contract expires on Friday, and the leadership has the power to call a strike as soon as Saturday if no agreement is reached.

SAG-AFTRA leaders painted a sunny picture of their ongoing negotiations in a video released over the weekend, saying the talks have been “extremely productive” and promising to reach a “seminal deal.” But according to multiple sources with knowledge of the dynamic in the negotiating room, the sides remain far apart on a range of key issues. With just a few days left before SAG-AFTRA’s current contract expires on Friday, some are privately predicting that talks will be extended beyond the June 30 deadline, though such a move has not formally been broached in the negotiating room with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The membership of SAG-AFTRA has voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike authorization, maximizing the guild’s leverage ahead of negotiations that begin on Wednesday. The guild announced Monday night that 97.91% of the voting members supported the authorization. Turnout was 47.69%. The vote comes as the Writers Guild of America strike enters its sixth week. Many SAG-AFTRA members have already joined WGA members walking the picket lines. The leaders of both guilds have expressed solidarity with each other several times this year. The writers strike has caused a sharp downturn in production, especially in television. If SAG-AFTRA goes on strike, any remaining film and TV production would halt immediately. The union represents 160,000 performers.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA congratulated the Directors Guild of America on reaching an agreement with the studios on Sunday, but both groups stressed that the deal does not change their own goals. Both guilds are intent on pushing back against “pattern bargaining,” in which the terms of the DGA deal are typically applied to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. The WGA has been on strike for a month, while SAG-AFTRA begins its negotiations on Wednesday. “Our bargaining strategy has never relied upon nor been dependent on the outcome or status of any other union’s negotiations, nor do we subscribe to the philosophy that the terms of deals made with other unions bind us,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the executive director of SAG-AFTRA, in a statement.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Los Angeles unions rallied on Friday evening in a show of support for the Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike for the last four weeks. The unions — representing hotel workers, teachers and state employees — shared the stage across from Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A. with representatives from the Hollywood guilds. “It’s going to be a hot labor summer,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, executive director of SAG-AFTRA. “Your fight is our fight. Our fight is your fight. We are all in this together.” SAG-AFTRA has called a strike authorization vote as it looks to gain leverage for its negotiations, which begin on June 7. The SAG-AFTRA contract expires on June 30.

SAG-AFTRA and Cameo for Business (C4B), the celebrity digital marketplace that connects talent with fans and brands, have reached what the guild is calling a “groundbreaking” agreement that allows its members to work under a SAG-AFTRA contract and count their C4B earnings toward their pension and health benefits.

SAG-AFTRA’s leadership, although often divided along internal party lines, presented a united front at the Los Angeles local’s annual membership meeting yesterday. They stressed the importance of solidarity in advance of the guild’s upcoming contract negotiations, sources tell Deadline.

Hollywood labor presented a united front last night at the Shrine Auditorium in support of the Writers Guild of America’s ongoing strike, which is now in its third day. That included Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399, whose secretary-treasurer and chief negotiator Lindsay Dougherty had the biggest mic-drop moment in front of the crowd of 1,800 WGA West members.

SAG-AFTRA will no longer be the only Hollywood union that leases building space for its headquarters, as the actors guild announced that it has closed a deal for a $46.6 million purchase of a new headquarters in North Hollywood. “After multiple sessions with my executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and CFO Arianna Ozzanto, it was determined that SAG-AFTRA was now in a financially sound position to pursue this goal,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said in a statement. “National secretary-treasurer and finance committee chair Joely Fisher next took the lead in pursuit of a worthwhile real estate investment,” Drescher continued.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA announced Tuesday that it has bought an office building in North Hollywood for $46.6 million and plans to relocate its headquarters there in the next few years. The performers’ union has been renting its headquarters in the Museum Square building in the mid-Wilshire area. In 2015, the guild extended its lease into 2026. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s executive director, said in a statement that the new building will provide more space and better facilities, and that the union will save money over the long run by owning instead of renting. The new building is at 12020 Chandler Blvd., adjacent to a stop on the Orange Line busway and a few blocks from the NoHo Arts District. The building is currently home to Pilgrim Media Group and Screen Engine/ASI.

SAG-AFTRA has bought an office building in the San Fernando Valley for $46.6 million that will serve as its new national headquarters. Located at 12020 Chandler Blvd. in North Hollywood, the property features more than 118,000 square feet of commercial office space and includes the building on 1.22 acres and a nearby 0.71-acre vacant lot.

Although Hollywood’s Covid return-to-work protocols are set to expire on May 12, performers and background actors involved in intimate scenes – and those involving extreme physical exertion – will be allowed through July to request self-administered Covid testing of performers with whom they will be working in close or intimate contact.

Leaders of SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399 showed their support for the WGA on Monday, posing with WGA leaders shortly before the 11 a.m. start of the Writers Guild’s contract negotiations with producers at the AMPTP’s headquarters in Sherman Oaks.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards, which honors both movies and TV shows, is here.  Nominees for the SAG Awards were announced in January – including the recipient for this year's lifetime achievement award: Sally Field.  Here's how to watch, who's nominated and what else to know ahead of this year's SAG Awards. How to watch Rather than air on a traditional network, this year's award show will stream on Netflix's official YouTube channel.

SAG-AFTRA announced on Friday that it has renewed the contract of National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland through June 2028, approving the new four-year contract during a meeting of the actors guild’s national board with 87% of the vote. “I am very excited to continue fighting for the members of SAG-AFTRA,” Crabtree-Ireland said.

SAG-AFTRA’s Corporate/Educational and Non-Broadcast Contract has been ratified by the guild’s national executive committee. According to the guild, it was negotiated with “the industry bargaining group that traditionally negotiates this agreement.” A ratification vote of the members was not required for this contract.

SAG-AFTRA today applauded the enactment of the Respect for Marriage Act, which was signed into law today by President Joe Biden. The bipartisan legislation was passed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, and concerns that the court might next rule that states can make same-sex and interracial marriages illegal.

SAG-AFTRA is staffing up and gearing up to reopen its offices on January 30 after having been closed to in-person gatherings since the onset of the Covid pandemic nearly three years ago.

SAG-AFTRA, in partnership with the AFL-CIO, is offering new SAG-AFTRA Senior Benefit Plans for all Medicare-eligible members and their Medicare-eligible spouses/partners, which includes a $0 premium option. The new plans are available to all of SAG-AFTRA’s Medicare-eligible members, regardless of their qualification for the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan.   

Members of SAG-AFTRA have voted resoundingly to ratify a new contract with Netflix. According to the guild, the vote was 89.03% in favor of ratification, although it didn’t release the actual vote count or how many of its 171,000+ members voted.

SAG-AFTRA‘s national board voted overwhelmingly today to approve a new agreement with the AMPTP that will sharply limit exclusivity terms in actors’ personal service agreements that hold series regulars off the market and unable to work for unreasonably long periods of time. The vote was 95.5% in favor, 4.5% opposed, and does not require membership ratification as this was a mid-term modification of the guild’s existing film and TV contract.

A federal judge has dismissed Frances Fisher’s lawsuit against SAG-AFTRA, in which the actress accused the union and several of its former and current leaders of breaching their duty of fair representation over the raising of eligibility requirements for coverage under the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan