George Clooney brought together a group of Hollywood stars to make an offer to the SAG-AFTRA union in a bid to end the ongoing actors strike.
George Clooney attempted to resolve the actors strike
Actors across the industry walked out in walked out in July as part of a dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over concerns including residuals from streaming services and the use of artificial intelligence - now Clooney has attempted to bring the two bodies closer to a deal.
His proposal would see some of the industry's biggest-earners pay more to the SAG-AFTRA union by lifting the cap on membership dues - meaning those who earn more can contribute more in fees - to help bolster the union's coffers and bridge the gap between the offer from the studios and SAG-AFTRA's demands. It would also allow the lowest-paid actors on a project to collect their residuals first.
Clooney told Deadline.com: "A lot of the top earners want to be part of the solution. We’ve offered to remove the cap on dues, which would bring over $50 million to the union annually. Well over $150 million over the next three years. We think it’s fair for us to pay more into the union. We also are suggesting a bottom-up residual structure — meaning the top of the call sheet would be the last to collect residuals, not the first. These negotiations will be ongoing, but we wanted to show that we’re all in this together and find ways to help close the gap on actors getting paid."
However, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher has since admitted Clooney's solution just isn't going to work.
In a video posted on Instagram, she explained: "First of all, I want to thank certain members that wield a lot of clout in this business for the tremendous amount of money that they contributed to our foundation. I also want to thank George Clooney for organising the suggestion that … take the caps off of the dues so that the highest paid members can contribute more. Although that’s extremely generous and we accept that graciously.
"We are a federally regulated labour union and the only contributions that can go into our pension and health funds must be from the employer. So what we are fighting for in terms of benefits has to remain in this contract. [It’s] kind of apples and oranges, just so everybody understands that."
She added: "There was a reference to a suggestion of maybe a solution from some people of how maybe we can get back to the table with some kind of a residual. But that was vetted by our very experienced union contract staff negotiators and lawyers. And they said that it unfortunately doesn’t hold water because, frankly, this is a very nuanced house of cards.
"So although we appreciate the effort and the desire to be supportive to all the member body, we at the union and with the negotiating committee are still waiting for the CEOs to return to the table so we can continue our talks."
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