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It’s official — Hollywood actors are on strike.
National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator of SAG-AFTRA Duncan Ireland Crabtree announced the decision at a presser on Thursday, after the union and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to reach a deal Wednesday night.
He explained, “The board has determined that union members should withhold their labor until a fair contract can be achieved,” adding that actors will hit the picket lines starting tomorrow.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher also gave an impassioned speech, saying, “This is a very seminal hour for us. I went in in earnest, thinking that we would be able to avert a strike. The gravity of this move is not lost on me or our negotiating committee or our board members who have voted unanimously to proceed with a strike. It is a very serious thing that affects thousands if not millions of people… not only members of this union, but people who work in other industries that service the people who work in this industry. So it came with great sadness that we came to this crossroads… We are the victims here… by a very greedy entity.”
She went on, “So the jig is up, AMPTP. We stand tall, you have to wake up and smell the coffee. We are labor and we stand tall and we demand respect.”
AMPTP released a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, saying, “This is the Union’s choice, not ours. 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.”
The L.A. Times reports the union’s national board of directors had to approve the strike Thursday morning ahead of the announcement, adding that 98 percent of SAG-AFTRA members had already voted in favor of the strike back in June.
Streaming is among the contentious issues between the parties involved. SAG-AFTRA wants to increase residual payments and change how payments are calculated so they reflect a project’s success. They also want protections regarding the use of AI.
When actors went on strike in the 1980s — over the emerging home video market — it lasted three months.
It’s a tough time for Hollywood — the Writers Guild of America also went on strike May 2.
The two strikes could cause significant delays in film and TV projects in the months ahead.