As we’re nearing 100 days of the SAG-AFTRA strike, a group of actors consisting of Oscar winners George Clooney, Emma Stone, Ben Affleck, and other big Hollywood players like Tyler Perry and Scarlett Johansson, are coming together in an attempt to end it.
Their plan essentially restructures union dues and how the people at the top would get paid which would benefit the names lower on call sheets. It would disburse the costs to AMPTP signatories by eliminating the cap on membership dues. That money in turn would be used to maintain health benefits and other areas that SAG-AFTRA is trying to help keep afloat.
“A lot of the top earners want to be part of the solution,” Clooney told Deadline. “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.”
Clooney added that these negotiations will be ongoing but the collective wanted to show that they’re “all in this together and find ways to help close the gap on actors getting paid.”
Deadline also reported that SAG-AFTRA leaders brought the offer to its negotiating committee Wednesday night.
With the summer devoid of film promotion, it’s obvious that writers and actors are key elements in that department and not just their single role. While the WGA is getting back to work across the board, it’s a matter of time to find out how long those scripts will sit with SAG-AFTRA workers still at the picket line.