After the Writers Guild struck a surprise deal with studios and streaming companies over the weekend, SAG-AFTRA announced it will be back at the negotiating table by the end of the month.
The Performers Guild and the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance will resume negotiations on April 27, the two parties said in a joint statement on Monday. The two sides broke off the talks on March 15 after failing to reach an agreement in the first scheduled negotiating period.
The quick turnaround in the WGA deal, after only three weeks of negotiations, has allowed the two parties to schedule their return to the negotiating table sooner than expected. SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP had previously targeted early June to return to negotiations, according to a source.
This scheduling will give the union and AMPTP a two-week deadline before the directors begin negotiations with the Directors Guild of America on May 11. SAG-AFTRA’s current three-year contract expires June 30.
SAG-AFTRA kicked off the 2026 contract negotiation season with talks that began on February 9. While labor leaders kept specific proposals under wraps, union officials told members they wanted to create more protections against the use of generative AI in covered work, increase compensation for members and continue making adjustments to the employee selection process.
Even after extending negotiations by one week, on March 15, SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP announced immediately after the 98th Academy Awards concluded that they needed more time to reach an agreement. They described previous bargaining sessions as “productive.”
When talks resume on April 27, industry watchers will be watching to see whether SAG-AFTRA will extend the term of its contract, as the WGA just did, to four years instead of the typical three. In 2023, the two unions went on strike for more than 100 days in an attempt to improve compensation in the streaming era and create barriers around the use of generative AI in Hollywood.
SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is leading negotiations for the union, while AMPTP President Greg Hessinger is chairing talks for studios and streamers.
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