End of Hollywood Actors’ Strike, Hotel Workers’ Union Win in Vegas & More

Actors Reach Deal with Hollywood Studios

The actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, reached a tentative contract agreement with Hollywood studios last week. In July, actors joined the strike initiated by screenwriters in May over streaming-service pay and concerns about rapidly developing artificial intelligence technology. The Writers Guild of America reached an agreement with studios and ended its strike in late September. SAG-AFTRA members will begin voting this week on whether to accept their new contract, which among other things would give them more compensation for streaming movies and shows, and guarantee that AI-generated replicas of their likenesses wouldn’t be used without their approval or pay. (NEW YORK TIMES)

Hotel Workers’ Union Wins Big in Vegas

Las Vegas hotel workers reached new contract agreements with Caesars, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts last week, narrowly avoiding a strike at 18 hotel-casinos located on the Strip. Among other things, the proposed contracts would guarantee the workers significantly higher wages and daily room cleanings, which hotels discontinued during the pandemic, placing the workers in jeopardy of cutbacks. Rank and file members of the Culinary Workers Union will vote on whether to approve the proposed five-year contracts within the next couple of weeks. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

CA Employers Face Tight Deadline for Workplace Violence Preparations

California employers will have until July 1 of next year to create workplace violence prevention plans and train workers how to follow them. Robert Rodriguez, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Sacramento, said meeting that deadline “is not going to be an easy undertaking for employers” and “will likely require the involvement of many internal stakeholders.” (SHRM)

—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK