Breaking: George Clooney & A-List Celebs Pledge Multi-Million $ to Resolve Actors' Strike
George Clooney and fellow Hollywood stars unite to support SAG-AFTRA strike, pledging millions in increased union dues Their commitment strengthens money negotiations for better working conditions and fair wages
George Clooney, Tyler Perry, and other influential actors have presented a substantial solution to assist in resolving the ongoing actors strike. Following a virtual meeting with SAG-AFTRA union leadership on Tuesday, Clooney and several prominent members with high earnings put forth a proposal that entails eliminating the $1 million membership dues cap. This move aims to address the contractual negotiation impasse with major studios. A source familiar with the proposal informed CNN.
The proposed modifications would lead to higher-earning individuals making a substantially larger contribution in annual membership fees, potentially strengthening the union's financial resources for healthcare benefits. Deadline originally broke the news.
Emma Stone, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, as well as Clooney and Perry, were among the prominent guild members who convened a meeting with union leaders Fran Drescher and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
CNN has contacted SAG-AFTRA for a statement.
According to Clooney in an interview with Deadline, they expressed their desire to contribute to ending the strike. Clooney stated that many high-earning individuals are willing to be part of the resolution. They have proposed removing the cap on dues, which would generate over $50 million in annual revenue for the union. This would amount to a total of well over $150 million in the next three years. Clooney believes it is fair for them to contribute more to the union. Additionally, they are suggesting implementing a bottom-up residual structure, wherein the actors at the top of the call sheet would receive residuals last rather than first. Clooney emphasized that these negotiations will continue, but they wanted to demonstrate their unity and explore ways to address the disparity in actors' compensation.
The proposal emerges approximately one week after the studios terminated discussions with the union. Contract negotiations collapsed on October 11, leading to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) suspending further talks due to the lack of progress in a constructive manner.
The studios and SAG-AFTRA are negotiating revenue sharing and policies around use of artificial intelligence, among other items.
The strike has been going on since July 14.
