PMC/Getty Images
More than 300 actors, including many big names, have signed a letter to SAG-AFTRA leadership urging them to take a hard line in negotiating a new film and television deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to represent.
“A strike brings incredible hardship for so many, and no one wants it,” the letter to SAG-AFTRA’s leadership and negotiating committee said. “But we are ready to strike if it comes to that. And we are concerned at the notion that SAG-AFTRA members may be willing to make sacrifices that leadership is not making.”
Jennifer Lawrence, Quinta Brunson, Bob Odenkirk, and Meryl Streep are among the signers in bold.
The guild may be in the last week of negotiations before their current contract expires on June 30, and the letter comes days after SAG-AFTRA executives told their members that the negotiations have been “extremely productive” and that they ” remain optimistic”. that a fair deal can be struck with the AMPTP.
“This is not a moment where we meet in half,” the letter reads, “and it is no exaggeration to say that history’s eyes are on us all.” Deploying the changes we need and the protection we deserve while making history. If you fail to make it there, we ask that you use the power we, the membership, have given you and join the WGA on the picket line. For our union and its future, this is our moment. We hope that you experience this moment on our behalf and do not miss it.”
Here is the full letter:
Dear SAG-AFTRA Steering and Negotiating Committee,
Thank you for your hard work and leadership in navigating these difficult negotiations at a truly unprecedented time. As SAG-AFTRA members, over the past few months we have been impressed by how our leadership has spelled out the unique challenges of the negotiations and the need for realignment in our industry. We were glad that SAG-AFTRA was at the forefront among guilds in identifying AI as a threat to our livelihoods that needs to be addressed now, as a game changer. We felt like you understood how severely our salary and balance payments have been eroded and how long we are held between seasons. We were filled with pride to see the union come together and hold such an incredibly strong vote on strike authorization.
But solidarity requires honesty, and we must make our resolve clear. A strike brings incredible hardship for so many, and no one wants it. But we’re ready to strike when it comes down to it. And we are concerned at the notion that SAG-AFTRA members might be willing to make sacrifices that the leadership is not making. We hope you heard the news from us. This is an unprecedented turning point in our industry and what might have been good business in other years just isn’t enough. We feel that our wages, our craft, our creative freedom and the power of our union have been eroded over the past decade. We must reverse this trend. With inflation and continued growth in streaming, we need a major overhaul of our minimum wage and new media balances, exclusivity exclusions, and other terms. We also think it’s absolutely vital that the deal restores dignity to the casting process by regulating how selfies are used. This is a huge problem for working-class actors. And with regard to artificial intelligence in particular, we do not believe that the SAG-AFTRA members can afford to make half a profit as they expect that there will be more in three years, and we think it is absolutely important that these negotiations not only protects our similarities but ensures we are well rewarded when our work is used to train AI. We want you to know that we would rather strike than compromise on these fundamental issues, and we believe that if we settle for a non-transformative deal, and SAG-AFTRA will, the future of our union and our craft will be undermined enter the next negotiation with drastically reduced influence.
This is not a moment where we meet in half, and it is no exaggeration to say that history’s eyes are on us all. We ask that you stand up for any change we need and the protection we deserve, while making history. If you fail to make it there, we ask that you use the power we, the membership, have given you and join the WGA on the picket line. For our union and its future, this is our moment. We hope that you experience this moment on our behalf and do not miss it.
The letter comes days after SAG-AFTRA executives told members that the guild’s ongoing contract negotiations with the AMPTP had been “extremely productive” and that they “remain optimistic” that a fair deal could be struck.
On Monday, the two leading political factions of SAG-AFTRA said they had formed a joint list to support the re-election of guild president Fran Drescher and secretary-treasurer Joely Fisher later this summer. Drescher had been elected president at the top of the governing Unite for Strength list, while Fisher was elected on the MembershipFirst list.
This rare show of solidarity follows the guild board’s unanimous recommendation to recommend a strike permission vote, which was then accepted by 98% of members.
SAG-AFTRA is currently in what may be its final week of negotiations for a new film and television deal. The current contract expires Friday at midnight PT.
The Writers Guild of America is on day 57 of its strike against the AMPTP over its own film and television contract.