SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents actors and radio personalities has officially begun strike action. The initial strike date of July 1 was postponed until July 13 to give more time to negotiate a new contract. However, the AMPTP, which represents film and television studios, did not put forward an equitable deal. The SAG-AFTRA executive board will meet later on July 13 to formally approve strike action. Picketing will begin July 14.
It's the first time since 1986 that SAG's actors have voted to strike. However, there was a strike by commercial actors in 2000. Furthermore, with the WGA strike ongoing, this marks a historic moment. For the first time since 1960, both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA will be on strike at the same time. Fun fact about that 1960 SAG strike - it was led by then-SAG President Ronald Reagan. Reagan, who would become President of the United States in 1981, would become infamous for his anti-union sentiment. This was best seen during the 1981 Air Traffic Controllers Strike.
Hollywood Set To Shut Down
Without writers or actors, there is very little that Hollywood can do right now. Per SAG President Fran Drescher, “[AMPTP's response] to the union’s most important proposals have been insulting & disrespectful of our contributions to this industry. The companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics & on others completely stonewalled us.” Meanwhile, the AMPTP continues its war on the striking workers. Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, called the demands of the WGA and SAG "not realistic" while appearing on CNBC. For context, Iger makes a minimum of $25 million a year. The current calculation puts the demands of the WGA and SAG at a cost of around 0.02% of the revenue of the AMPTP. Iger's comments also come after Disney, a company that made over $80 billion last year, made "cost-saving" layoffs at ESPN and National Geographic.
Furthermore, the AMPTP has been accused by striking workers of planting anti-union propaganda articles at outlets such as Deadline. While outlets such as Deadline are parroting the AMPTP talking point that studio bosses are willing to waiting the WGA out (essentially let the writers go broke and then have them beg for mercy), this is untrue. Per TV writer David Slack in the Twitter thread linked above, "What happens is they run out of product. No new shows in streaming to drive and sustain subscribers, no new shows in broadcast and ad-supported to bring in ad revenue. No shows, no money, no money, bad earnings report. Bad earnings report, bye-bye stock price. Bye-bye CEO. After 70+ days with no writers to create their product for them, the pipeline is running dry. Their stock price isn’t tanking yet. But if they don’t make a deal with us, it will. And they know it."
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