As Contract Talks Loom, SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris Says Union Has Support Of Its Members

SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris says the union has the strong support of its members as it prepares to begin negotiations for a new film and TV contract.

“We are approaching negotiations on our TV/Theatrical contracts,” she said in the latest issue of the union’s magazine. “When we sit down to bargain with representatives of the major motion picture and television networks and studios, we will do so with a strategic and informed proposal package. It is important to know that thousands of members helped develop these proposals in wages and working conditions meetings across the country. I also heard from members on sets, in membership meetings and in get-togethers in many of our locals. Issues of the greatest concern were raised and helped define the package that we will put forth as a union.”

Carteris didn’t reveal, however, what those issues of “greatest concern” are, but a knowledgeable source tells Deadline they include many of the same issues tackled by the DGA and the WGA in their recent contract talks, including higher pay rates for new media, options and exclusivity issues that hold actors to future deals, and increased residuals from high-budget SVOD shows.

“When we step into the negotiating room in the coming days,” she wrote, “it will be with a strong, experienced negotiating committee; our extraordinary national executive director and chief negotiator, David White; and a unanimous approval of the proposed package from our national board of directors.”

In his message to SAG-AFTRA’s members, White said the union must remain “keenly focused on the challenge of disruptive transformation to business models” and “remain focused on what matters most: our members, who strive to make a living during this era of unprecedented change. We will be single-minded in this focus as we commence our upcoming TV/Theatrical negotiations.”

The current contract expires on June 30, and the negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers could begin any day.