SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher hit back at Hollywood studios after they claimed the union rejected a contract offer worth more than a billion dollars.
“Why would we go on strike if we were offered such an incredible deal? It doesn’t make sense,” she told CBS Mornings. “We’re not making $78,000 a day like the CEOs of these companies, so it’s insulting for them to imply that we’re being kind of spoiled brats, when [our] people are journeymen working people that just want to pay the rent and put food on the table."
Drescher said the studios are the ones who walked away from bargaining and are now “stonewalling” the union, with no communication between the two parties since the strike began. She blamed studio heads for putting profits ahead of the well-being of the workers who create their content.
“They want to squeeze blood from a rock, because all they’re interested in is showing their shareholders how much money they’re making and not losing,” she said. ‘And where do they go? To the performer, who is the foundation of their whole business model.”
Among the issues facing actors in negotiations are the need for an 11% pay increase to make up for inflation, and better residuals for streaming content, which currently pay literal pennies. Drescher said that in the past, residuals were able to sustain actors for years.
“They’re still making money off of [The Nanny], because the show continues to make money for everyone up and down the ladder. It was a very good business model,” she said. “When the advent of streaming was introduced, the business model changed radically.”
She said part of the difficulty in figuring out what shows are worth on a streaming platform is due to the fact that those companies don't provide their subscription numbers.
SAG-AFTRA Secretary-Trasurer Joely Fisher also told KNX News Tuesday that the AMPTP’s claim of a billion-dollar deal is “B.S.” The union claims the studio’s proposals were insufficient and failed to address many of their key concerns.
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