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UPDATED with video: Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA, criticized the AMPTP at a strike rally in Times Square on Tuesday, saying the companies’ response to the guild’s proposals before the contract negotiations collapsed and the actors’ strike began 12 days ago was “no”. No. No.”
Speaking to hundreds of cheering actors and their supporters from other guilds and unions, Crabtree-Ireland noted that he and SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher spoke to the CEOs of three studios on the last day of the hearing, May 12: “We said, ‘Here’s everything you need to do to make sure there’s no strike.’ “All you have to do is make that fair deal.”
“And her answer was, ‘No.’ As is their response to so many of our suggestions, which we have said are essential to treating actors fairly and with respect.
“Are actors getting minimum wage increases that keep up with inflation? ‘NO.’
“Are actors getting a share of the streaming revenue made because of their faces and voices on these new platforms, these new companies creating these companies?” ‘NO. “We don’t even want to talk about it.”
“Are you willing to give actors real, informed consent to use their own face, voice, body and likeness in creating artificial intelligence digital doubles? ‘NO.'”
“This strike,” he said, “is the result of big corporations refusing to treat our members fairly.” And it’s not okay, and we’re standing up and saying no to it… This is a united membership standing together and saying no to an unfair deal. We say ‘no’ to disrespect towards these companies.”
Here is the video:
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Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA National Executive and Chief Negotiator, commended the AMPTP for a fair treaty rally in Times Square today at Rock the City #SAGAFTRAStrike pic.twitter.com/6dhZSFFVwE
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 25, 2023
The SAG-AFTRA rally, titled “Rock the City for a Fair Contract,” included speeches from Bryan Cranston, Christie Baranski, Stephen Lang, Wendell Pierce, Christian Slater, and Liza Colón Zayas, who attended the event, which took place at Times Square’s Pedestrian Plaza on Broadway between 43rd and 44th Streets. Also among the speakers was WGA East executive Lowell Peterson, whose guild has been on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for the past 85 days.
Crabtree-Ireland, who has been criss-crossing the country for the past week and was in New York after attending Comic-Con in San Diego last week, added, “Before the AMPTP walked off the negotiating table — and make no mistake, she walked away from the negotiating table — we might have been on strike, but I told them on July 12 that we’re ready to continue talking tomorrow and after until we come to an agreement.” And we did I’ve told the media every day since, them and everyone who’s listening. SAG-AFTRA is ready, willing and able to return to the negotiating table. The only reason we’re not there right now is because these companies have stated that they don’t want to deal with “uncivilized” people. (boos from the crowd.) And because those companies said they wouldn’t be willing to talk for a long time. (More boos and jeers.) Right. That is exactly right. We reject that.
“We have made a very reasonable proposal to share in the revenues of the streaming platform that was created thanks to all of you. And their response to that was, “We have no interest in discussing this.” And now the AMPTP is trying to claim that their latest contract offer to us is worth over $1 billion a year. Which isn’t true at all. However, the fact of the matter is that none of their tricks will fool anyone. It won’t fool you and it won’t fool anyone else out there either.
“If they say they agreed to our proposals for informed consent on AI, you know what? Great. I wish they had. Because what? I would say no to that if you were okay with that? No. Their idea of informed consent is that you have to come by on the first day of work, or even before you are hired, and agree in advance that you can let them do whatever they want with your digital copy. That’s not real approval. This is swindle. It’s not legitimate.
“By the way, we’ve talked a lot about the impact this has on background actors, and rightly so, because background actors would be abused as part of their proposal. But, you know what? It’s not just background actors. They also made the same suggestion for franchise projects. So every lead man out there who was like, “Oh, wow.” “Maybe I’ll have a chance to be in a Marvel movie.” Well, you know what? This job could be your last because they can tell you that if you want this job you have to agree that they can use your digital likeness forever with no additional consent and no additional compensation. And that’s wrong.
“And until these companies come together and strike a fair and respectful deal, we will continue to stand on the strike line and continue to say ‘no’ to an unfair abuse of power that seeks to force us to accept what is wrong. There comes a time when you must stand up for what is right and that time is now.”