98% of the 65,000 members of the actors union that represents 160,000 voted on Monday afternoon and authorized to go on strike and support the scriptwriters. In this way, the artists represented by the union (SAG-AFTRA) will stop working if the film and television studios, such as streaming platforms, do not agree to a new contract by June 30.
The writers, through their union, Writers Guild of America (WGA), started the strike to demand labor improvements in the face of inflation and the changes generated by streaming. Currently, they consider that they are “overworked”, since only a small group of writers is in charge of a series, something that increased with the pandemic. The income of the majority decreased and they ask to participate in the profits from the transmissions on the platforms. The claims are addressed to the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP), an organization that has just been given an ultimatum by the actors’ union.
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The president of SAG-AFTRAT, the actress Fran Drescher, known worldwide for the series ‘La nana’, congratulated her colleagues. “They came together in favor of strength and solidarity. I’m proud of everyone who voted, as well as those who expressed their support, even if they couldn’t vote. Together we unite and in unity we build a new contract that honors our contributions! in this remarkable industry, it reflects the new digital and broadcast business model and brings all our concerns for protection and profit to the now! Bravo, SAG-AFTRA, we are in this to win it”.
After authorizing the strike, the actors’ union will meet with AMPTP — which represents more than 350 Hollywood studios, television networks and streaming companies — to start negotiations. The directors’ union has already reached an agreement that they defined as “historic”.
However, the directors’ agreement did not sit well with several writers. In the 2007 strike, the directors signed their own agreement and the writers agreed to end the strike. “AMPTP continues to use their old playbook. And the DGA continues to abide by the rules, knowing that they can take advantage of the WGA’s determination to achieve a truly historic agreement. Disappointing, but not surprising,” he tweeted. Steven DeKnight from ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’.
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For the American press, The support of the actors comes at a crucial moment, one month after the strike began with 11,500 writers. “Many in Hollywood were concerned that all three guilds would attack at the same time,” The Guardian reports.
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