Striking writers and actors led the picket lines in front of the Netflix offices in Hollywood on July 17. (photo by Rance Collins)

On July 13, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists joined the Writers Guild of America in a strike against the Alliance of Television and Film Producers. In the days since, the tension between the AMPTP and the guilds has grown, with details over the producers’ contract proposals drawing anger from union members.

Well-known actors have reported their streaming residual payments, including Mandy Moore, who told the Hollywood Reporter on July 18 that her checks for “This Is Us” were typically around “81 cents.” One of the main sticking points in contract negotiations for both guilds have been the lack of parameters on streaming content. Whereas previous iterations of contracts made hefty residual considerations for home video sales and syndication packages, steaming has yet to be figured into the contract. SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said the AMPTP was unwilling to come to the table on issues like this and likened the organization’s offers to “moving around furniture on the Titanic.”

“The inability to be paid equitably and make an honest living is a basic fight that stretches far beyond entertainment,” SAG member Jai Rodriguez said. “People look at my professional history and assume since I appeared ‘busy,’ I’m financially comfortable. That’s just not the case. I live very humbly and often times the actual work is getting the next job. Self-tapes take hours to shoot correctly from home. All things we are now responsible for ourselves. My hope is sounder minds will prevail and our basic demands for fair wages and practices will be met as quickly as possible. At this point, many of us are struggling to make ends meet even with our sideline jobs.”

Artificial intelligence has also been a much-debated issue between the studios and the guilds, and SAG-AFTRA leadership reported that an AI deal proposed by the AMPTP would’ve involved members signing away their image rights for just one day of work and pay as an extra.

The two guilds have not had simultaneous strikes in 63 years, and SAG-AFTRA has not had a major all-actor strike since 1980. Some provisions have been made for certain productions to continue, including soap operas and certain independent films.

The strike followed weeks of intense negotiations. SAG-AFTRA’s contract with the Alliance of Television and Film Producers was set to expire on June 30, but an extension pushed the expiration to July 12 at 11:59 p.m in hope of reaching a deal.

“We are deeply disappointed that SAG-AFTRA has decided to walk away from negotiations,” read the statement from the AMPTP. “This is the union’s choice, not ours. In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking [artificial intelligence] proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses and more. Rather than continuing to negotiate, SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods.”

Nearly 98% of SAG-AFTRA members voted in favor of a strike on June 5, just as the guild negotiators came to the table with the AMPTP. A federal negotiator was brought in on July 11 to try and avert a strike, but soon afterwards the union reported it was “not confident” that an agreement would be made in time.

“It came with great sadness that we came to this crossroads, but we had no choice. We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity,” Drescher said. “I am shocked by the way that people that we have been in business with are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly. How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right, when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history at this very moment. We stand in solidarity in unprecedented solidarity.”

WGA members welcomed SAG-AFTRA on the picket line, with WGA member Michael Cummings noting that it strengthened his guild’s goals.

“Whether or not it will speed up the process is unclear, but solidarity between the unions definitely gives both sides more leverage to get a fair deal,” Cummings said.

“As a military veteran, we have a call to arms,” SAG-AFTRA member B.J. Lange said. “As a union member – the solidarity, the brotherhood that we have across all the different unions, seeing everyone just out here – I think [the AMPTP is] definitely seeing this. There are people that are representative of all the different groups, and I think that it’s going to get to them at some point. I know it’s a long game.”

A Deadline article quoted an unnamed studio executive on July 11, just two days before the SAG-AFTRA strike began, as saying that “the endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their homes.”

“I was supposed to be shooting a series right now which would have been a relief since winter and spring was the slowest season in my professional history,” Rodriguez said. “To make basic ends meet I’ve picked up small sideline jobs but it’s been incredibly difficult.”

“In response to the quote, it’s clear that the studios pushed to publish that article days before SAG walked out as a way to fear monger,” Cummings said. “But it just shows their ignorance. As a writer, I’ve chosen this profession because it’s my life calling. I’ve been a struggling artist before, as have most writers, so threatening to push us to the brink of starvation and homelessness isn’t something we’re unaccustomed to. It only adds fuel to our fire, because that’s the lifestyle we’ve been fighting these studios to overcome for decades now.”