SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contracts Expiration Date Extended Again

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Advertisers and SAG-AFTRA have chosen to prolong the end date of their existing agreements while they work on creating new ones.

The entertainers’ guild and the joint negotiating committee representing advertisers and ad agencies collectively accelerated the end date of their ongoing contracts to April 11th, as they were initially scheduled to terminate by the close of business on Friday.

The artists’ union and the advertising industry’s joint negotiation team agreed to extend their existing deals until April 11th, as these agreements had originally been due to expire by the end of this coming Friday.

On Friday, the union clarified that their action aimed to “support ongoing constructive talks.” This might imply that if the discussions continued beyond the expiration of the contract, there was a possibility that SAG-AFTRA could instigate a potential work stoppage as a bargaining tactic.

The latest development is a response to a decline in commercial production, traditionally a significant job provider in L.A., which has been slower than usual compared to past years. This decrease in production work across the region has ignited the “Stay in L.A.” campaign, an initiative aimed at advocating for beneficial tax incentives and convincing major studios to continue their operations within the city, where the entertainment industry originated.

According to the most recent report from FilmLA, on-set commercials experienced a slight increase during the last quarter of 2024. However, this figure represented a decrease of approximately 33% when compared to their average over the past five years.

Discussions concerning the union’s business agreements started on February 20th, and both sides have been secretive about their objectives during these negotiations while maintaining a media silence. On Monday, the expiration dates for the existing business contracts were temporarily pushed back, enabling the union’s artists to keep working under those terms as the talks progressed.

In this scenario, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who serves as the national executive director of SAG-AFTRA, is spearheading the talks on behalf of the union. Meanwhile, Stacy Marcus, a partner at DLA Piper, is acting as the representative for the Joint Policy Committee.

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2025-04-05 19:24