Some very famous SAG-AFTRA members sound very serious about a strike

A letter signed by more than 300 actors urged SAG-AFTRA leadership to stand firm in contract negotiations as expiration date looms

Some very famous SAG-AFTRA members sound very serious about a strike
SAG-AFTRA awards Photo: Kevork Djansezian

With less than three days remaining before SAG-AFTRA’s contract with the AMPTP expires, more than 300 actors, including some of the biggest names in Hollywood, have signed a letter urging leadership to draw a hardline in negotiations with the studios. Per Deadline, some of the signatories include Kevin Bacon, Quinta Brunson, Glenn Close, David Duchovny, Chelsea Handler, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lawrence, Bob Odenkirk, Mark Ruffalo, Meryl Streep, Rami Malek, Patton Oswalt, Sarah Polley, Parker Posey, Amy Schumer, Kyra Sedgwick, Chlöe Sevigny, and Ben Stiller.

The letter underscores some of the key differences between SAG-AFTRA leadership and rank-and-file members. Namely, as the letter puts it, Glenn Close, Jennifer Lawrence, and 300 others “are concerned by the idea that SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not.”

“This is an unprecedented inflection point in our industry, and what might be considered a good deal in any other years is simply not enough. We feel that our wages, our craft, our creative freedom, and the power of our union have all been undermined in the last decade. We need to reverse those trajectories,” the letter states. “With inflation and continued growth in streaming, we need a seismic realignment of our minimum pay and new media residuals, our exclusivity carveouts, and other terms.”

The staance SAG-AFTRA members are taking comes roughly two months after the writers’ strike started under similar circumstances. Like the WGA, SAG-AFTRA is looking for fair wages, updated residual agreements (and, for some, residuals at all), and regulations against A.I. Its members do not believe the union “can afford to make halfway gains in anticipation of that more will be coming in three years.”

“This is not a moment to meet in the middle, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that the eyes of history are on all of us. We ask that you push for all the change we need and protections we deserve and make history doing it. If you are not able to get all the way there, we ask that you use the power given to you by us, the membership, and join the WGA on the picket lines. For our union and its future, this is our moment. We hope that, on our behalf, you will meet that moment and not miss it.”

In May, SAG-AFTRA leaders described negotiations as “extremely productive.” Though, as the letter highlights, members appear dubious—especially considering some controversial comments made by SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher earlier this year when she described the SAG-AFTRA contract as “very different” than the WGA’s.

Earlier this month, SAG-AFTRA voted overwhelmingly in favor of strike authorization, with nearly 98% voting in favor of the strike. The contract expires at midnight Friday, so we’ll know how it all went in just a few days.

 
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