After hours of anticipation (and a 12-day extension from its original negotiating deadline with Hollywood’s studios), the actors union SAG-AFTRA will now officially go on strike at midnight.
The union announced the news Thursday in a press conference where Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief operating officer and general counsel of SAG-AFTRA, said, “Because the AMPTP remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on key issues essential to protecting the livelihoods of working actors and performers, SAG-AFTRA’s national board unanimously voted to issue a strike order against the studios and streamers.”
“Actors deserve a contract that reflects the changes that have taken place in the industry,” Crabtree-Ireland continued. “Unfortunately the current streaming model has undercut performers’ residual income and high inflation has further reduced our members’ ability to make ends meet.”
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Crabtree-Ireland added that the SAG-AFTRA strike will begin at midnight tonight, and members will be encouraged to join the picket lines on Friday morning.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher also spoke at the press conference Thursday afternoon, saying: “The gravity of this move is not lost on me or our negotiating committee or our board members who have voted unanimously to proceed with a strike. It’s a very serious thing that impacts thousands, if not millions, of people all across this country and around the world.”
“So it came with great sadness that we came to this crossroads,” she added. “But we had no choice. We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. 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. How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right when they’re 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.”
Hollywood’s writers union, the Writers Guild of America, has been waiting since their strike began in May to see if actors would join them on the picket line. Thursday marks the first time since 1960 that both unions have walked out as one.
Back in May, experts explained to The Daily Beast how that solidarity could “change the complexion” of the strike in the WGA’s favor. Screenwriters and their SAG-AFTRA colleagues share a number of goals, including more equitable compensation for their work and stronger protections against AI.
As SAG-AFTRA’s negotiations came to a close, some of the tension seemed to drip into the public. Earlier this week, multiple anonymous executives told Deadline that the plan among studios has been to stall WGA negotiations until the fall, when writers will have presumably begun to lose their housing. Once the story went viral, the AMPTP, which represents Hollywood’s major studios, told Deadline, “These anonymous people are not speaking on behalf of the AMPTP or member companies, who are committed to reaching a deal and getting our industry back to work.”
This story will continue to be updated.
Editor’s Note: This has been updated to reflect that the strike called Thursday afternoon officially begins at midnight.
