WGA and SAG-AFTRA Push for Unemployment Benefits for Striking Workers

This is Day 76 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

EXCLUSIVE: “This strike was way too long, because the companies took so long to get serious,” WGA West President Meredith Stiehm declared tonight of the nearly 150 days the Writers Guild was out on the picket lines before a tentative agreement was reached on September 24.

SAG-AFTRA members have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against 10 of the major video game companies. The vote was 98.32% in favor.  A total of 34,687 members cast ballots, representing a voting 27.47% of eligible voters. The guild’s last strike against the gaming companies, in 2016-17, lasted 183 days. The guild, meanwhile, has been on strike against the film and TV industry since July 14.

WGA and [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers] met for bargaining today and will meet again tomorrow,” the WGA said in a negotiations update message sent to members late Thursday. “Your Negotiating Committee appreciates all the messages of solidarity and support we have received the last few days, and ask as many of you as possible to come out to the picket lines tomorrow.” The WGA has been out since May 2.

Sean Durkin’s wrestling drama, The Iron Claw, is the latest in a string of upcoming A24 theatrical releases to get cleared for a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Meredith Stiehm has been reelected as president of WGA West, in a strong show of support as the union’s strike continues into its fifth month. Stiehm took 3,354 votes, easily defeating Rich Talarico, who took just 300 votes. Two other officers were also reelected: Michele Mulroney, as vice president, and Betsy Thomas, as secretary-treasurer.

Indian film star Anil Kapoor, better known in the West for his role in Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”, made a splash at the recently concluded Toronto International Film Festival with “Thank You For Coming” – which he co-produces and stars in.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The California Senate voted on Thursday to grant unemployment benefits to workers who are on strike. The bill passed with a 27-12 vote. The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA have each expressed support for the bill.

A bill that would make striking workers in California eligible to receive up to $450 a week in unemployment insurance benefits passed in the state Senate on Thursday by a vote of 27-12. Senate Bill 799, which passed in the state Assembly last month, now heads to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who can either sign it into law or veto it.

Tom Sandoval just competed in Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, said to be the ultimate test of physical, mental, and emotional resilience, but it’s hard to tell if he’s changed. The Vanderpump Rules star, who had a months-long affair with his ex-girlfriend, Ariana Madix’s best friend, Rachel Leviss, who went by Raquel, had some choice words for his ex-mistress, who recently blocked him on Instagram.While Sandoval and Leviss defended their love on the reunion, sources confirmed with ET that they broke up in the wake of the cheating scandal.

The A24 drama Past Lives has landed a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, allowing actors to participate in upcoming events this award season. Premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and bowing in theaters in June, the film finds itself a contender in several categories on the awards circuit including best actress, actor and supporting actor for stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaor.

Tom Sandoval isn’t here for the shade from Rachel Leviss!

A bill that wouldmake striking workers in California eligible to receive unemployment benefits was approved on Wednesday by a 4-1 vote of the state Senate’sLabor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee. Senate Bill 799, which has already been passed by the state Assembly, now goes to a vote of the full Senate. If approved there, it will be up to Governor Gavin Newsom to either sign it into law or veto it. Last year, he vetoed 169 bills while signing nearly 1,000.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA held a massive march and rally outside the Paramount studio on Wednesday, as the union marked 62 days on strike. Union leaders argued that the strike has resonated across industries, as workers stand up to “unchecked corporate greed.” “What’s at stake is bigger than just the entertainment industry,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s executive director. “It’s about the livelihoods of everyone who needs a job to earn a living.” He urged actors to use their voices and authenticity to speak for the broader labor movement.

Tech CEOs and other industry leaders converged on the stately top floor of a Senate office building on Wednesday for a closed-door forum with lawmakers focused on potential regulation of AI.

Michaela Zee Drew Barrymore is returning for the fourth season of her eponymous daytime talk show sooner than expected. Barrymore announced on social media that “The Drew Barrymore Show” will begin its fourth season soon, in accordance with the rules of the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes. The actor first referred to her decision to step down as host of the MTV Film and TV Awards in May, in a show of support and solidarity to the striking WGA members.

SAG-AFTRA’s presence at TIFF continued into Saturday with a special picket outside Amazon offices here in Toronto with Canada’s commercial actors union ACTRA, who’ve been in a 501 day contract lockout with the country’s advertising agency’s org.

OK, so there was one good deal point –one– to come out of the AMPTP talks with the WGA, as SAG-AFTRA National Executive director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland admitted at TIFF today: It was the streamer’s transparency on viewership numbers.

He brought zing to a sleepy Comic-Con, and he’s raising the humidity levels here at TIFF. SAG-AFTRA Chief Negotiator and National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland took the stage at the festival to give a post-Labor Day update on talks; and still it’s the same old story: The actors haven’t heard zip from the studios about moving forward.

This is Day 129 of the WGA strike and Day 56 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.