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- How the recent bargaining unfolded and next steps
- Who’s at the bargaining table
- Timing pressure from other guild negotiations
- Artificial intelligence: the thorny battleground
- Why a “Tilly tax” is on the table
- Other bargaining priorities: pay, benefits, and streaming payouts
- Signals to watch as talks resume in June
SAG-AFTRA and the major studios wrapped up a month of face-to-face bargaining without a new deal, agreeing to pause formal talks and pick them up again in June. The pause leaves unions and producers navigating a tight calendar of guild deadlines and a handful of contentious topics, chief among them the use of artificial intelligence in film and television.
How the recent bargaining unfolded and next steps
Negotiators met for several weeks after talks began on Feb. 9. What was planned as a brief session stretched into extra days as both sides tried to narrow gaps.
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Neither party announced a contract. Instead, they said talks were productive and that formal negotiations would restart later this spring. A press blackout remains in effect, limiting public details about specific concessions or trade-offs.
Formal bargaining will resume before the current contract ends on June 30. Until then, conversations will continue behind closed doors.
Who’s at the bargaining table
The union’s negotiating team is led by Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director. Representing the studios is Greg Hessinger, the new CEO of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
- Union side: SAG-AFTRA negotiators and membership committees.
- Studios: AMPTP leadership and studio representatives.
- Both sides: regular closed-door sessions and brief public statements.
Timing pressure from other guild negotiations
The calendar tightens the stakes. The Writers Guild of America contract expires May 1, and WGA talks begin imminently. The Directors Guild of America is scheduled to meet the AMPTP on May 11.
Both the DGA and SAG-AFTRA agreements have a shared June 30 expiration. That synchronized timeline increases pressure to resolve disputes quickly.
Artificial intelligence: the thorny battleground
AI remains the most disputed subject. In the last bargaining cycle, the union won protections aimed at controlling how AI replicas of actors are used. This round has shifted to synthetic performers—digital characters created without any actor’s likeness.
Synthetic performers complicate negotiations because they offer studios creative and economic upside while giving actors little direct benefit. That imbalance feeds union demands for new rules or fees.
Key AI topics the sides are arguing over
- Ownership and consent for training data built from actors’ performances.
- Limits on studios’ use of synthetic, non-human performers.
- Proposals such as a so-called “Tilly tax” to fund protections or benefits tied to synthetic performer use.
Why a “Tilly tax” is on the table
The idea behind a Tilly-style levy is to require studios to pay into a union-controlled fund when they deploy synthetic performers. Supporters say it could offset lost work or create industry-wide safeguards.
Opponents argue it might stifle innovation or be hard to enforce. The concept reflects broader attempts to translate the union’s 2023 AI victories into rules that cover new, purely synthetic technologies.
Other bargaining priorities: pay, benefits, and streaming payouts
Beyond AI, negotiators are working through financial and structural items that affect members’ livelihoods. Topics include:
- Residuals and how streaming platforms pay actors.
- Health and pension fund contributions and stability.
- Exclusivity windows and rules limiting where performers may work.
Streaming residuals remain a central economic fight. Both sides want formulas that reflect the changing marketplace, but agreeing on numbers and triggers has proven difficult.
Signals to watch as talks resume in June
Look for changes in tone from either side, new proposals on AI compensation, or movement on residual formulas. Continued secrecy around negotiations will limit clarity, but small procedural shifts can be telling.
Union leaders and studio executives face a narrow window to reach agreement before multiple contracts lapse, and any impasse could ripple across the industry. Observers will be watching committee reports, bargaining summaries, and whether a Tilly-style fund gains realistic traction.
