BREAKING: SAG-AFTRA Union Officially Approves Strike
Joining alongside WGA in their ongoing strike will now be SAG-AFTRA, with both groups striking simultaneously for the first time since 1960.
The SAG-AFTRA national board voted unanimously today to launch a strike as of midnight tonight after negotiations failed on Wednesday.
Hollywood To Shut Down
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) began striking 73 days ago, with the focus on seeking out higher compensation and residuals earned from streaming media, along with concerns about the growing use of artificial intelligence.
Now, for the first time in 63 years, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is joining them in striking.
During a press conference today, Fran Drescher, president of the SAG-AFTRA union, said, “We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us.”
She added, “It is disgusting. Shame on them.”
SAG-AFTRA is seeking higher compensation in an industry becoming increasingly more reliant on streaming services along with regulation surrounding artificial intelligence and compensation for high-performing content on streaming networks.
“You cannot change the business model as much as it has changed and not expect the contact to change, too,” Drescher said.
This is the first time SAG-AFTRA will go on strike since 1980, and it will likely have huge implications for the film and entertainment industry.
Although much of Hollywood was already shut down due to the WGA strike, the SAG strike will not allow actors in the union to film TV shows or movies, audition, or promote new or past projects (this includes Emmy Award campaigning).
We would also be remiss if we did not mention the controversial comments made by Disney CEO Bob Iger this morning when he described the strikes as “disturbing,” “unrealistic,” and “disruptive.” Needless to say, these comments were not well received by Hollywood.
“We’ve talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we’re facing, the recovery from COVID, which is ongoing, it’s not completely back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption,” Iger said.
We’ll be watching this developing situation closely. Keep following MickeyBlog for more Disney news!