SAG-AFTRA has weighed in on the appointment of new management on the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers forward of the union’s upcoming negotiations with the foremost Hollywood studios subsequent yr.
“Greg Hessinger has extensive knowledge of the industry and is an experienced negotiator. We look forward to productive bargaining with him as we continue to represent and advance the interests of all performers,” National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland mentioned in a press release to Deadline on Tuesday.
Hessinger is the previous National Executive Director of the Screen Actors Guild, having taken up the submit for about six months in 2005, earlier than the merger with AFTRA. However, previous to his SAG high job, Hessinger additionally served because the National Executive Director of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
No stranger to labor negotiations, Hessinger additionally beforehand served as Director of Labor Relations for CBS.
The AMPTP‘s succession plan comes almost 5 months after the group introduced that its president of 15 years, Carol Lombardini, can be stepping down this yr. Hessinger assumes his new place on April 14, and Lombardini will tackle an advisory position.
“Carol Lombardini has given decades of service and broke ground as the first female lead negotiator for the employers. We wish her well as she steps into an advisory role with the AMPTP,” Crabtree-Ireland concluded.
Hessinger is taking up on the heels of a comparatively contentious earlier bargaining cycle, when each SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America went on strike for greater than 100 days. His expertise on the opposite aspect of the negotiating desk might point out a brand new dynamic to come back between the AMPTP and the Guilds as they start early talks within the subsequent few months, forward of subsequent yr’s formal bargaining cycles.
The Writers Guild of America’s contract expires on May 1, 2026, and the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA agreements each expire on June 30, 2026.