Actors Union, Hollywood Producers Turn Down Gov. Newsom’s Offer To Mediate SAG-AFTRA Strike

Governor Gavin Newsom’s office announced late on Wednesday that the Governor has been attempting to mediate the SAG-AFTRA strike behind the scenes, with both actors and producers in Hollywood having turned down the offer so far.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television (SAG-AFTRA) have been on strike since July 14th, as part of the bigger Hollywood strike sparked by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) beginning in early May. Both unions have demanded, among other things, better pay, a way for streaming services to be factored into residuals, the usage of artificial intelligence in the industry, and having a new minimum number of writers on a show or movie. The strike, which is the first for the WGA since 2007-2008, the first SAG/SAG-AFTRA strike since 2000, and the first combined strike since 1960, has already faced considerable heat from the press.

Other than a few foreign and independent features in which actors are allowed to participate with the union’s blessing, virtually all productions involving SAG-AFTRA actors and WGA writers have come to a standstill. Besides holding up new movies and TV shows, the strike is also having a devastating local economic impact on Los Angeles and other cities across the state seeing business from movie and TV productions.

Politically, many Democratic lawmakers have been seen with picketers in both strikes. Most House Democrats representing California also recently wrote a letter to both the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), urging an end to strike soon and to give the actors a fair deal. However, mediation from a lawmaker has been a no-go so far, with neither side agreeing to have a such a negotiator.

However, on Wednesday, Governor Newsom’s office announced that the Governor has been contacting both sides and offering himself as a mediator. As a longer strike could end up costing the state billions, as proven by the 100 day 2007-2008 writer’s strike that cost the state $2.1 billion in economic loss, Newsom said that he is concerned that a long strike could have similar devasting local and state repercussions, including have tens of thousands of workers in the state be out of work for months. But, despite the offer, Newsom’s office admitted on Wednesday  that both sides have turned down Newsom’s offer.

“Neither studio executives nor actors and writers have shown formal interest in bringing Newsom to the negotiating table,” noted the Newsom administration’s senior adviser for communications Anthony York on Wednesday. “It’s clear that the sides are still far apart, but he is deeply concerned about the impact a prolonged strike can have on the regional and state economy. Thousands of jobs depend directly or indirectly on Hollywood getting back to work.”

Newsom possibly looking at increased political clout through strike negotiation

Strike experts said the the Globe on Thursday that the union and producers turning down the Governor wasn’t all that a surprising move.

“On the surface, he appears to actually be somewhat of a good choice for negotiator,” Theresa Stevenson, an arbitrator in Michigan who has helped settled union disputes and strikes in the past, said in a Globe interview. “He is close to both actors and studios either through political donations or having been worked with for years as Governor. Plus his wife is a former actress and current director, so they are tied in there as well.”

“But the fact that both SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP both quickly turned him down says something. He’s close to both sides, so there is major concern that he could be fair or impartial. The studios got that letter recently that pretty much showed that Democrats are siding with the union, so they won’t trust Newsom with negotiations. And the actors, in turn, don’t like how close he has been to the studios either.”

“Plus, many have felt that he is not doing this altruistically. Newsom is running for higher office in the near future and wants more feathers in his cap. Helping mediate a strike is always a positive feat, and it’s one that he really doesn’t have. Actually, many other lawmakers have it from negotiations with unions in the past, and he doesn’t.[Los Angeles Mayor] Karen Bass helped bring about an end to the school strike for example. Newsom wants that high-profile win too. Oh, and remember, the actors strike is international news. He would get international recognition for helping end a strike if he was brought on.

“If he was earnest, he would have stayed behind the scenes and helped end it quietly. So many Mayors, Councilmembers, and yes, Governors have done this in the past. You wouldn’t believe how many automotive and auto parts related strikes have ended because a civic leader or Mayor quietly met the two sides in their office, hashed things out, and brought both sides back to work. They couldn’t afford a prolonged strike. And here, they can’t afford one either, but it’s happening. And no one wants Newsom to help negotiate. That’s a strong message.”

As of Thursday, both SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP are currently not negotiating, with the AMPTP having made the latest offer.