This Wednesday, the National Board of Directors of the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and Federation of American Television and Radio Artists) unanimously voted to approve the strike. On June 7, the union will begin negotiations with AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) over a contract that expires on June 30. This does not necessarily mean they are on strike, but it does mean that union members are on strike. Agreed to empower leadership to order work to stop if no agreement is reached with AMPTP.
The decision comes at a very difficult time for Hollywood. The WGA (Writers Guild of America) has already gone on strike, stopping a lot of the screeching in the media industry. The WGA strike has halted production of countless TV shows, delaying much-anticipated releases such as Andor, The Last of Us, Stranger Things and The Yellowjackets. SAG-AFTRA represents more than 160,000 actors, broadcast journalists, newswriters, singers, dubbing artists and other media professionals, so the strike already has a huge impact on an industry that has had to resist writers. will exert pressure.
Controversially, SAG President Fran Drescher said, “It’s very important for writers, I’m also a WGA writer, but I don’t think it’s the sort of thing we’re after.” “I think so, but I’m very sympathetic to their need to be respected, so I feel like our conversations change a lot.” -AFTRA’s disputes overlap in many ways with the protections sought by the WGA. Both companies are trying to negotiate a cut in balance due to streaming, artificial intelligence threats, shorter TV seasons and longer breaks at work, which could lead to further financial and career instability. .
SAG members are already picketing in solidarity with WGA members. We’ve seen videos and photos of actors like Nathan Fillion and Chris Pine standing in the picket line, but a full-scale SAG-AFTRA strike would essentially cripple Hollywood. Almost every professional actor is a member of his SAG, so the production will have to stop, well, all in all. Projects in post-production could continue, but even that would be stalled as many directors and editors endorse his WGA (or members themselves). After a while, when this becomes a fuss, there will be no more TV shows or movies, and no one will be in them, if at all.
Again, SAG-AFTRA doesn’t appear to be going on strike if the studios comply, but a licensing vote might be enough for Hollywood studios to start making deals with the unions. . When the WGA was on strike alone, the studio refused to even consider the proposal, but the WGA can’t afford that because the entertainment industry would be devastated if the two unions went on strike.
The Directors Guild of America, whose contract expires on June 30, is not seeking a vote to approve the strike, even though it has already started negotiations with AMPTP, unlike SAG-AFTRA. If they accept weaker terms in the deal, it could weaken other unions’ positions, but if they unite with their industry colleagues, it’s a show of unity never seen before in the entertainment industry. may be seen. The studio has no choice but to negotiate in good faith or face an existential crisis. Strikes could end sooner and everyone could get better working conditions. It’s a win-win for workers and a big win for companies that inflate their profits by exploiting their employees. it’s about time.