The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) authorized a strike on Thursday, with some union leaders blaming the Biden-era inflation as one of their main issues.
The strike will be going into effect at midnight after the union’s 160,000 members voted overwhelmingly to authorize shutting down the industry and join the WGA in their ongoing strike against the AMPTP. During a press conference on Thursday, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director of the union and the chief negotiator, said that crippling inflation has put actors in a difficult financial position that studios have not aided.
Crabtree-Ireland said the studio streaming model has “undercut performers’ residual income and high inflation has further reduced our members’ ability to make ends meet.”
“To complicate matters further, actors now face an existential threat to their livelihoods with the rise of generative AI (artificial intelligence) technology,” Crabtree-Ireland said. “We proposed contract changes that addressed these issues, but the AMPTP has been uninterested in our proposals.”
Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, also said that the “eyes of the world and particularly the eyes of labor are upon us.”
“What happens here is important because what’s happening to us is what’s happening across all fields of labor by means of when employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run,” Drescher said.
This marks the first time since the 1960s when SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America joined each other in a strike. The AMPTP blamed the union for this outcome.
“A strike is certainly not the outcome we hoped for as studios cannot operate without the performers that bring our TV shows and films to life,” the AMPTP said. “The Union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry.”
The AMPTP also accused SAG-AFTRA of walking away from negotiations after it offered “historic pay” a residual pay hike.
“Rather than continuing to negotiate, SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods,” it said.
Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the union demands were unrealistic.
“It’s very disturbing to me. 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,” Iger said. “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.”
Reports also indicate that the AMPTP will not be negotiating with the WGA until the fall, hoping that it will make the writers desperate.
“I think we’re in for a long strike, and they’re going to let it bleed out,” said one industry veteran told Deadline.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.