Yahoo Finance Hollywood union demands 'not realistic' as actors strike looms: Disney CEO Bob Iger
Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger did not mince words when asked about Hollywood actors likely joining writers on the picket lines.
"It’s very disturbing to me," he told CNBC in a lengthy interview on Thursday, a day after the company announced it will be extending his contract through 2026.
Iger described the union demands as "not realistic" given the current media environment, adding, "We’ve talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we’re facing, the recovery from COVID which is ongoing, it’s not completely back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption."
SAG-AFTRA — the union that represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, recording artists, and other media professionals around the world — is likely to announce a strike on Thursday after failing to negotiate a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which bargains on behalf of studios including Disney, Netflix (NLFX), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), and NBCUniversal (CMCSA).
The union extended the negotiation deadline last week and even met with federal mediators earlier this week — a last-ditch effort to try and reach an agreement, which ultimately failed.
"I understand any labor organization’s desire to work on behalf of its members to get the most compensation and be compensated fairly based on the value that they deliver," Iger said. "We managed, as an industry, to negotiate a very good deal with the directors guild that reflects the value that the directors contribute to this great business."
"We wanted to do the same thing with the writers, and we’d like to do the same thing with the actors. There’s a level of expectation that they have that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive," he continued, warning the strikes will have "a very damaging effect" on the whole industry, along with Hollywood-adjacent businesses.
SAG-AFTRA is fighting for more protections surrounding the role of artificial intelligence in media and entertainment, in addition to higher streaming residuals as more movies and TV shows go direct to streaming.
"The studios and streamers have implemented massive unilateral changes in our industry’s business model, while at the same time insisting on keeping our contracts frozen in amber," Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator, said in a statement on Thursday. "That’s not how you treat a valued, respected partner and essential contributor. Their refusal to meaningfully engage with our key proposals and the fundamental disrespect shown to our members is what has brought us to this point. The studios and streamers have underestimated our members’ resolve, as they are about to fully discover."
SAG-AFTRA has not gone on strike in over four decades. If a strike is called, it will be the first time both writers and actors will be on the picket lines since 1960. The WGA strike is currently in its third month with no end in sight.
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com
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