The SAG-AFTRA actors’ union reached a tentative labor agreement today with Hollywood studios, bringing an end to a strike that spanned nearly 120 days and brought the entertainment industry to a nearly complete stop.
No details of the tentative agreement were immediately released. The strike will officially end at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
There was no immediate comment from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represented the studios in the negotiations.
Hollywood production has essentially been at a standstill since May 2, when the Writers Guild of America union went on strike, and SAG-AFTRA performers mostly honored the picket lines. The WGA ended its strike in late September, when negotiators reached a labor agreement with the studios. WGA members ratified the deal in early October.
The shutdown has been estimated by some experts to have cost the local economy billions of dollars, affecting not only actors and writers, but all other aspects of the production industry and even small businesses that rely on entertainment workers, such as restaurants and caterers.
“I am grateful that a fair agreement has been reached between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP after a more than 100-dy strike that impacted millions in Los Angeles and throughout the country,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement Wednesday afternoon after the tentative deal was announced. “Those on the line have been the hardest hit during this period and there have been ripple effects throughout our entire city.
“Today’s tentative agreement is going to impact nearly every part of our economy. Now, we must lean in on local production to ensure that our entertainment industry rebounds stronger than ever and our economy is able to get back on its feet.”
Hopes of a break in the negotiating deadlock began arising Tuesday, when Deadline reported that negotiators for the union and AMPTP met via Zoom late Monday night and reached a possible agreement regarding…
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