SAG-AFTRA members kicked off their first day on the picket lines with demonstrations outside major studios in Los Angeles.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the chief negotiator for SAG-AFRTA, said the plan is to send a message to the studios.
“We are going to go to a bunch of different picket lines and get out there and join our members on those lines and send a message to the companies that, you know, they need to get back to the table and do what's right to take care of our members,” he said.
Fran Drescher, the union president, spoke with reporters while striking outside Netflix Studios in Hollywood. She said streaming and A.I. are threats to actors.
“We are all suffering from the threats of streaming and digital and A.I. and we must pull in the reins of this wild pony right here and now,” she said.
Drescher added that the actors' situation is not "unique to us."
“Workers everywhere around the world are watching this because it's happening to them too,” she said. “And until you're there and not in your ivory tower making $100 million, you don't know what it feels like. But we are being systematically squeezed out of our livelihoods and it's not going to happen anymore.”
One actress told KNX News she thinks the strike should’ve happened sooner.
“I was waiting a long time for us to go on strike and we should’ve gone on June 30th because I knew they weren’t going to give us what we want,” she said. “So, this is a good thing for us and we’re gonna get what we want.”
On Thursday, Drescher announced the strike would happen following a vote by its National Board.
“We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity,” she said during a press conference. “I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things.”
The Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television released a statement shortly after SAG-AFTRA’s announcement, saying a strike “was certainly not the outcome” it hoped for.
“The Union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry,” it said.
AMPTP also said it offered the union “a deal that offered historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, and a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses.”
Negotiations with the two unions began June 7 and came to an end late Wednesday after a contract deadline extension and federal mediation.
The effects of the strike is also hitting movie sets. ‘Deadpool 3’,’ Gladiator 2’, and ‘Wicked’ are just a few of several productions that have shut down due to the strike.
The cast of Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" walked out of the U.K. premiere in solidarity with the union. The cast appeared on the carpet, prior to walking out.
Some of the cast of Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" took to Instagram Thursday to promote the film before the strike was set to commence.
"we're going on strike soon, so this will be my last post about the barbie (sic) before it's release," actor Simu Liu wrote, sharing a pic of him on the film's set.
The actors’ union is joining the Writers Guild of America, who has been on the picket lines since May. The last time the unions were both on strike at the same time was in 1960.
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