SAG-AFTRA National Board member Matthew Modine said he's going to vote against the union and AMPTP's tentative agreement… again, Deadline reported.
In his full statement, the actor said, “Consent, in the context of this agreement, is tyranny.”
“It is submission,” he continued.
SAG-AFTRA and the AI tsunami
Modine's sticking point is AI. His statement insisted, “The US Government, with all its resources, doesn’t know how to create AI guardrails to provide protections for citizens. SAG-AFTRA certainly doesn’t have the financial resources or technology to navigate the AI tsunami crashing upon the shores of the entertainment industry.”
SAG-AFTRA currently has 160,000 eligible members voting to ratify the deal reached on Nov. 8 between the union and the AMPTP. There has been a growing dissension against the agreement.
When the National Board met on Nov. 10, not everyone agreed on the terms of the tentative deal. An eventual total of nine out 80 members voted against the deal, including Modine. However, that meant 86% of the board voted for it which meant that the deal had to be taken to the general membership to be ratified.
The ratification vote started on Nov. 14 and will run through early December. SAG-AFTRA has released bullet points and an 18-page summary out of the full 128 pages of the Memorandum of Agreement.
Modine isn't alone in voicing his dissent. Actress Justine Bateman told Deadline, “I think generative AI is one of the worst ideas we’ve ever had in this society.” Bateman's biggest issue stems from the idea of synthetic performers created by AI. She thinks it does away with actual performers and compares what the AI part of the deal could do in other industries.
Bateman used the example of AI-driving trucks for the Teamsters, a generative-AI director for the DGA and ChatGPT writing scripts for the WGA.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher criticized the “naysayers” and “low-level” people who were commenting on the deal. While she never mentioned anyone by name, Bateman — who was an AI advisor to the negotiating committee — had posted on X (formerly Twitter) comments regarding the AI portion of the deal.
The recently re-elected Drescher had called the deal, “the most lucrative, innovative and protective contract in entertainment union history!” on social media.
Call for renegotiation
Modine disagreed. In his statement, he called for renegotiations.
“Going back to the negotiation room and continuing to work on the issues surrounding AI and consent does not negate nor will it dismantle the benefits the contract now holds,” he said.
“Going back into the negotiating room with a sincere effort to further protect members and to more accurately interpret the rules of ‘consent’ and the uses of AI is the necessary next step we must make,” Modine stated in conclusion.
SAG-AFTRA has not responded to the Modine's statement.
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