LOS ANGELES (AP) — A significant turning point is marked on Thursday as, for the first time in over six months, both Hollywood actors and writers are no longer on strike.
The resolution to the industry’s most tumultuous season in decades was achieved late Wednesday, culminating in the conclusion of the longest strike in film and television actor history, lasting nearly four months.
While the three-year contract awaits approval from the board of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and its members in the coming days, union leadership has officially declared that the strike will conclude at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday. This development signals a return to full production capabilities for the first time since the spring.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director and chief negotiator, expressed satisfaction with the gains made in the deal, stating, “It’s an agreement that our members can be proud of. I’m certainly very proud of it.” In an interview with The Associated Press, he added, “We said we would only accept a fair, equitable and respectful deal, and that’s precisely what this deal is. So I think our members, as we are able to release more of the details of it, will look at them and say, now this is something that was worth being on strike for.”
The strike, which commenced on July 14, involved more than 60,000 SAG-AFTRA members, who joined the screenwriters that had initiated their walkout over two months earlier. This marked the first instance since 1960 where the two unions were on strike simultaneously. The studios and writers had previously reached an agreement, bringing their strike to a close on Sept. 26.
