Hollywood’s Actors’ Union voted to strike if talks about higher wages collapse before the end of June, increasing pressure on major film and television studios already grappling with a prolonged walkout by writers.
After voting closed Monday, SAG-AFTRA said 97.91 percent of votes cast supported a strike. Almost 65,000 members, about 48 percent of the total membership, voted.
Union membership is mandatory for all professional actors working on major US productions, as almost all studios and producers are party to union contracts that only allow them to hire union members.
While members include people from all walks of life, famous actors and actresses who have spoken about how they were awarded the first SAG cards include Jennifer Lawrence, Neil Patrick Harris and Anne Hathaway.
The decision to go on strike worsens the climate in Hollywood, where studios also have problems with writers and directors. On Sunday, the studios likely averted a second work stoppage by reaching an interim settlement with the Directors Guild of America (DGA).
Hollywood’s Actors’ Union voted to strike if talks about higher wages collapse before the end of June, increasing pressure on major film and television studios already grappling with a prolonged walkout by writers (pictured May 8).
Jennifer Lawrence (left) said the day she got her SAG card at age 14 was the best day of her life. Anne Hathaway (right) was also 14 when she joined the union
Neil Patrick Harris (left) said he became a union member after working on the TV show Throb. Amanda Seyfried (right) attends the premiere of The Crowded Room at the Museum of Modern Art on June 1
Members of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists include actors, broadcast journalists, announcers, hosts and stunt performers.
“Bravo SAG-AFTRA. “We are about to win the election,” said Fran Drescher, the union’s president, in a statement after the vote. Previously, she had been sighted on pickets of the writers’ guild for reasons of solidarity.
Talks between the 160,000-member actors’ union, Hollywood’s largest, and major studios are due to begin Wednesday and should be completed and settled before their current contract expires on June 30.
Key issues for actors include their base pay, which they say has been hurt by inflation and streaming, the threat of AI, welfare payments and the obligation to record auditions themselves — the cost of which used to be the responsibility of casting and production.
For many members, joining the union marked the start of their professional careers – an occasion of sentimental importance.
“I got my SAG card when I was 14,” Anne Hathaway said when accepting an Academy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2013 for her performance in Les Misérables.
“It felt like the beginning of the world.” I’ve enjoyed every minute of my life as an actor. And I’ve received so much kindness and support from actors in and out of this space,” she said.
Jennifer Lawrence said during her acceptance speech at the 2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Actress that the day she received her card was the best day of her life.
“I saw it on a TV show called Throb,” Neil Patrick Harris told TV Guide about how he came to be a union member. “I played a little kid chasing Jane Leeves.”
Fran Drescher, President of SAG-AFTRA, is interviewed May 8 at a Writers Guild of America rally outside the Paramount Pictures studio in Los Angeles
Actor Michael Rapaport joins members of the Writers Guild of America in demonstrating outside the Netflix offices in New York May 3 in their industrial action against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers
While the actors are only now agreeing to a possible strike, the WGA Writers’ Guild continues to strike.
So far, their strike has disrupted late-night show production and halted high-profile projects, including a new season of Netflix’s Stranger Things and a Game of Thrones spinoff for HBO from Warner Bros. Discovery.
The recently agreed pact will come into effect if DGA members vote to ratify it in the coming weeks. Terms are not yet known, but no new negotiations are planned with the Writers’ Guild, a smaller group representing 11,500 film and television writers.
An actors’ strike would therefore lead to a more widespread shutdown across Hollywood, increasing the pressure on studios that need programming to power their streaming services and fall TV schedule.
Regarding the actors, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, representing Walt Disney Co, Netflix Inc and other studios, said, “We are approaching these negotiations with the goal of reaching a new agreement beneficial to SAG-AFTRA is.’ Members and the industry at large.’
SAG-AFTRA executives said the industry has changed dramatically with the advent of streaming television and the advent of new technologies such as generative AI.
The upcoming talks “could be one of the most momentous negotiations in the history of the union,” chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said.
“Inflation, dwindling balances from streaming, and generative AI all threaten actors’ ability to make a living if our contracts aren’t updated to reflect the new realities,” he said.
Members of the Writers Guild of America demonstrate outside the Netflix offices in NYC May 3 in their industrial action against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers
“Together we are joining forces and collectively crafting a new contract that recognizes our contributions to this remarkable industry, reflects the new digital and streaming business model, and brings all of our concerns of protection and benefits to the present,” said SAG- AFTRA President Fran Drescher.
The nanny star, 65, took to Twitter on Thursday to urge all members to get involved in the vote.
“It is very important that everyone supports this action and we had 100 percent support in your elected national board, everyone agreed, as did everyone on the negotiating committee,” she said.
The last time actors went on strike over a dispute over their endorsement deal was in 2000. It began on May 1st and lasted six months through October 30th.
It’s one of the longest layoffs Hollywood has ever seen.