Hollywood actors to join screenwriters in strike over wages, AI

A Hollywood actors’ union has announced that it will launch a joint strike with screenwriters, setting up a showdown with entertainment giants such as Disney, Netflix, and Amazon over pay and benefits.

On Thursday, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the lead negotiator with the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union, said that the strike would begin at midnight following a breakdown in negotiations with the studios. The move represents the first joint action between actors and screenwriters in six decades.

“Employers make Wall Street and greed their priority, and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said. “Shame on them. They are on the wrong side of history.”

The strike is expected to bring the US entertainment industry to a grinding halt. It takes place at a time when labour action and unionisation have seen increased interest among workers seeking better pay, benefits and conditions after decades of rising inequality.

 

A SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical/Streaming Strike has been ordered effective July 14, at 12:01 a.m. Additional details are forthcoming. The Strike Order can be found here: https://t.co/NFBM7lLGTs pic.twitter.com/SGjmR0BPeu

— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) July 13, 2023

Following the announcement, the hashtag #SAGAFTRAstrong started trending on Twitter, as social media users weighed in with support for the strike.

Writers and actors are demanding job protections against Artificial Intelligence (AI) as well as an increase in base pay and residuals from streaming services.

 

Source: Aljazeera