And now… celebrate!
Spirits were high Wednesday evening as SAG-AFTRA members gathered at All Season Brewing in Los Angeles to toast the union’s tentative agreement on a new three-year deal with studios and streamers and the end of the 118-day actors’ strike.
Party organizers said they chose the brewery because of its proximity to SAG-AFTRA headquarters, where the union’s negotiating committee unanimously approved the deal just hours earlier.
The actors erupted in cheers as members of the negotiating committee, including Frances Fisher, Shari Belafonte and Avis Boone, arrived and joined the celebration after Wednesday’s vote and a marathon 10-hour session on Tuesday.
Fisher, Belafonte and Boone told it The Hollywood Reporter They are “relieved” and “excited” after the strike ended, shedding some light on the tentative deal.
“It’s not just one thing, it’s the whole package,” Fisher said THR about what she is most proud of about what the negotiating committee achieved in the deal. “It’s the whole thing, just like our membership. There are so many different categories that we wanted to have something for everyone. And that’s what we did.”
“I think there are things that have happened in the past that have been overlooked for so many years,” Belafonte added. “Not because there wasn’t a lot of power behind it. It was simply a different membership coming to the fore, and certainly a different leader. [SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher] was unstoppable and she rallied the troops and even though there had been some divisions in the past that just disappeared, everyone got to work.”
Negotiating Committee members also praised SAG-AFTRA members who have shown their support for the picket over the past 118 days.
“They were the backbone of this whole thing,” Belafonte said. “Even though we were there as members [negotiations]We obviously got the best deal we could. It was also hearing their voices, as you can hear tonight, that made us strong.”
“And our strike captains in LA and our strike captains in New York,” Boone added. “We couldn’t have done this without the solidarity, support and love we felt from the picket lines.”
Numerous incident commanders were present at the ceremony and expressed their mutual gratitude to the negotiating committee and their other comrades-in-arms.
“It’s surreal,” Amazon strike captain Chelsea Schwartz said of the walkout finally ending. “If people are offered to go back to work tomorrow, we could go back to work tomorrow and it’s crazy to think about that. “I’m very happy. I’m looking forward to celebrating with everyone tonight. I’m really proud of my negotiating committee.”
“We were on these lines every day,” said Brendan Bradley, Strike Captain at Paramount. “This is a new chapter for union empowerment and advocacy, and I think we will bring that to the next chapter of Hollywood.”
AI, streaming residuals and base salary increases are among the deal items that SAG-AFTRA members in attendance at All Season Brewing on Wednesday night say they are most curious about in the tentative agreement. The strike ends at 12:01 a.m. Thursday and the deal will go to the union board for approval on Friday.
