Actors Authorize Potential Strike With Hollywood Writers Still Picketing

The News

The union that represents greater than 160,000 movie and tv actors voted on Monday night time to authorize a strike, two days earlier than it’s to start negotiations on a brand new labor cope with the Hollywood studios. The end result from members of the SAG-AFTRA union, with 98 p.c authorizing a strike, was anticipated, and it got here in the course of the sixth week of a strike by Hollywood writers and only a day after the Directors Guild of America tentatively agreed to a brand new contract.

“Together we lock elbows, and in unity we build a new contract that honors our contributions in this remarkable industry, reflects the new digital and streaming business model and brings ALL our concerns for protections and benefits into the now!” Fran Drescher, the president of the actors’ union, stated in an announcement.

About 65,000 members solid ballots, or 48 p.c of eligible voters. The actors’ present settlement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains on behalf of the studios, expires on June 30.

Why It Matters: The actors have the identical worries because the writers.

Many of the actors’ considerations echo what the Writers Guild of America is preventing for: increased wages; elevated residual funds for his or her work, particularly for content material on streaming companies; and protections towards utilizing actors’ likenesses with out permission as a part of the improved skills of synthetic intelligence. According to the writers, the studios provided little greater than “annual meetings to discuss” synthetic intelligence, and so they refused to cut price over limits on the expertise.

The Directors Guild, in distinction, stated on Sunday that it had reached a “groundbreaking agreement confirming that A.I. is not a person and that generative A.I. cannot replace the duties performed by members.” Details about what that meant weren’t revealed.

Background: It has been a very long time because the final actors’ strike.

The final time the actors went on strike was in 2000, in a dispute over business pay. The strike lasted shut to 6 months.

What’s Next: Negotiations start on Wednesday.

With negotiations anticipated to start on Wednesday, SAG-AFTRA is bullish about what this strike authorization means. “We’re obviously coming in from a position of strength, but we’re not looking to strike,” stated Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s chief negotiator. “We’re here to make a deal.” He added: “But we’re also not going to accept anything less than what our members deserve. If a strike is necessary to achieve that, we’re prepared.”

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers stated in an announcement that “we are approaching these negotiations with the goal of achieving a new agreement that is beneficial to SAG-AFTRA members and the industry overall.”