With the Screen Actors Guild going on strike Friday, July 14 at midnight after negotiations with major studios failed, all Hollywood production has officially shut down — the first time both SAG-AFTRA and the WGA have gone on strike together since 1960. And the studios ultimately have no one to blame but themselves for the inevitable consequences.
Overview of Strike
As part of the strike notice and order to cease any and all work supported by the union contract, SAG-AFTRA members are not allowed to do any principal work on or off-camera, rehearsals or camera tests, interviews, auditions, tours, awards shows or participate in any publicity or screenings for their projects. That means no campaigning is allowed for the upcoming Emmy awards. Any non-members who are hoping to join the Guild in the future will not be permitted membership if they perform any of these banned services for a struck company.
Shutting down Hollywood is a clear and necessary tactic to show studio executives that actors and writers are the creative backbone that truly runs the entire industry. Without them, there is nothing.
For the time being, both the SAG-AFTRA and WAG strike prohibit scripted content and major productions from continuing to be created. However, unscripted work such as reality TV and talk shows can continue production. Documentaries can also be made and worked on, excluding those that are intended for “theatrical exhibition.” If the strike is long-lasting then these mediums of unscripted shows will likely take over the entertainment industry.
SAG-AFTRA’s more than 160,000 members have already taken to the picket lines alongside writers who have been on strike since May, taking to big studios like Disney, Fox and Netflix located in Los Angeles and New York to get their voices heard. During the UK premiere of Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated new film “Oppenheimer,” the cast and crew left early in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA strike. Many other actors have publicly expressed their support for the strike, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Jeremy Renner and Matt Damon.
Pushback by Studio Executives
So far, big studio executives have taken the approach of intimidation to try to elicit fear within the industry, completely ignoring how simple it would be to end the strike by meeting the demands of writers and actors.
Bob Iger ’73, chief executive officer of Disney, vocalized his complaints during a CNBC interview, calling the ongoing strike “disturbing” and claiming that writers were not being realistic with their demands for higher pay, increased residuals for streaming shows and strong action against AI. In an even more disturbing report from Deadline, an unnamed studio executive said that they are not planning on meeting the demands of writers, waiting until October when “union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.”
Outlining Actor and Writer Demands
The writers have expressed their desires for increased job security and payment. Particularly, the writers have pointed to “mini rooms” — a concept that streaming services often use that includes writing for shorter seasons and using fewer writers as a tactic that increase job insecurity.
Monetarily, writers are often given the short end of the stick when it comes to profiting from their hard work. Many writers earn the absolute minimum payment that the Guild allows. The minimum value earned is impacted by the time that a writer spends on a project and their title.
CBS notes that the amount of writers living off the minimum pay is upward from a third a decade ago, to now a half of writers. The absolute lowest a writer can receive is $4,546 a week — for 20 weeks of employment — according to WGA’s website.
The WGA’s request for the recently updated contract was to set up a plan in which all writers that are in the Guild would be paid a total combined amount of $429 million a year. The alternative offer implemented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) would reduce that request’s amount to $86 million a year.
In fact, the major difference in what was offered to the WGA versus the initial request by the WGA was that the contract was finalized without featuring terms that both parties agreed upon, helping fuel the start of the initial WGA strike.
The SAG-AFTRA also requested higher pay and protection to “protect members from erosion of income due to inflation and reduced residuals, unregulated use of generative AI, and demanding self-taped auditions [which can increase the amount of labor and financial strain on actors].”
The AI technology used and the prevalence of streaming services were significant points of concern noted in the Strike Authorization Referendum letter penned by Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator of SAG-AFTRA. “We must ensure that new developments in the entertainment industry are not used to devalue or disrespect the performers who bring productions to life,” Crabtree-Ireland stated.
As for payment, Variety described SAG-AFTRA’s note of wanting 2% of the total revenue that arises from streaming shows. There is also dissonance between the percentage of increased wage that the union requests over the 3-year-long contract that was being negotiated. The union wants a pay raise of 11% the first year, 4% the second and 4% for the third, whereas the AMPTP offers 5%, 4% and 3.5% subsequently.
The unsustainable pay that both writers and actors — especially lesser-known ones — face fosters a space where the cost of their creativity and talent is more than the compensation they receive in return.
The combined force of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike and the solidarity that they share with each other not only places more pressure on Hollywood executives, but highlights each of their often overlapping requests for sufficient and sustainable pay.
What is important to recognize during this tumultuous time in Hollywood history is that historically, strikes are meant to be disruptive. Do not be upset and complain that production on movies like “Deadpool 3,” “Wicked” and “Gladiator 2” has been put on hold indefinitely. What is at stake here is the livelihood of an entire industry of artists and creative forces who deserve to be fairly compensated for their work.
This strike also sets an important precedent for the future generation of artists who hope to break into the industry one day and make a livable career doing what they love.
