Right now, the WGA is on strike after their negotiations stalled for their new contract. I fully support the writers and what they are asking for. It’s clear that streaming services bring in a lot of money and they should not be treated differently from tv since they are essentially the same now. They want other things in their new contract that are different from what actors would want, but the general idea of what they are striking for is very similar to what actors want in our new contract.
And it’s about to be time for us to negotiate our new contract. It’s not unusual for these negotiations to happen back to back, and the directors will be negotiating soon too. But this time, things really feel different from past negotiations. There has always been solidarity between unions, but this feels much bigger than it’s ever been. Things also seem more organized, which might be partially due to social media but also maybe it’s also due to unions wanting to band together. I think it’s been pretty amazing to see how together everyone seems to be.
Typically, as SAG-AFTRA is getting ready to start negotiations on our contract, there isn’t much for the general membership to do. Once a new contract has been agreed to by the negotiating committee, the membership will vote to decide if we will ratify that contract or reject it. This year, things are different and I have a feeling that the current strike is a big reason why.
SAG-AFTRA has asked all members to vote on a strike authorization. This does not mean we will be going on strike, but it will allow us to quickly go on strike if that becomes necessary. If the membership agrees to the authorization, then the National Board can call a strike and all work on the tv/theatrical contracts will stop. This wouldn’t affect commercials or other categories of members such as broadcasters, but tv/theatrical is a big category.
Striking isn’t something that any of us want to do, but if things can’t be agreed upon, it could become necessary. And while some productions have continued during the writer’s strike because scripts have been written, it’s a lot harder to continue working when actors aren’t on set. I know that when the commercial strike happened years ago, this led to an increase in non-union commercials. But I couldn’t imagine that happening with tv and movies. I think the producer/studio side knows that a strike by actors would be devastating, They have already lost so much money due to productions being shut down from the writer’s strike, which would only increase if actors go on strike too.
As soon as the strike authorization vote was announced, I knew I would vote yes on it. It’s important for us members to give the negotiating committee all the tools they feel they need for this contract negotiation. And if they feel having the approval of a strike authorization would help, then I want them to have that. And I’m encouraging all my fellow members to do the same.
I know that this can sound scary, but it’s important to remember that this might not lead to a strike. Sometimes just having this vote approved can be enough for the other side to want to make a deal and avoid a strike. And if you are a member and have questions or haven’t voted yet, you can go to this website for more information. If you haven’t received your PIN to vote, that can be accessed on the IVS ballot website with your membership number.
Voting will end on June 5th, so there is still time to vote if you are a paid-up member. And I know that if we had a high turnout, that would work in our favor even more.
So if you are in SAG-AFTRA, please vote and I highly encourage you to vote yes. This is only going to help in these negotiations and if it leads to a strike, then that must be necessary in order to get the fair things that we deserve.
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The Importance Of The Writers Strike (or I Support The WGA)
Another SAG-AFTRA Election (or 318 Million Reasons To Vote Yes)
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A Night Of SAG Awards (or Watching Union Unity)
Another Virtual Union Meeting (or Getting Ready For What Is To Come)
