John,
Last week, actors in the SAG-AFTRA union officially joined the Writers Guild of America for their first simultaneous strike in 73 years.1
They’re fighting back against ridiculous contracts from the massive studios and streaming services taking advantage of their work — and we’re on the picket lines with mobile billboards to show our support and keep the pressure on greedy executives!
Join us in the fight for fair wages, fair treatment, and fair contracts by pitching in now. Your donation will help support more tactics like these as we organize for workers on strike and the legislation and representatives who will defend workers’ rights.
Contribute $10 »
It’s easy to get caught up in red carpet photos and massive movie star paychecks, but the reality is that the vast majority of actors are people you’ll never hear of and who are barely getting by. Each year, only 12.7% of SAG-AFTRA members even make enough to qualify for health insurance.
That’s because while the CEOs in charge are making millions off their work, the actors and writers actually creating our favorite TV shows and movies are trying to survive off residual checks worth less than the stamp used to mail them.
Earlier this month, Disney CEO Bob Iger signed a contract giving himself a 5 million dollar bonus while calling worker demands “unrealistic.”2 The studios are planning to use this tremendous wealth disparity to force workers to accept an unfair deal, with one studio executive saying that the plan was “to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.”3
And the endgame for studios and streamers is even worse — trying to make movies and TV shows without using actors at all. They’ve refused demands from SAG-AFTRA that would protect workers from being replaced by a digital version of themselves generated by artificial intelligence.4
We’ll continue to fight alongside actors, writers, nurses, doctors, teachers, railway workers, employees at UPS, Starbucks, Amazon — and ALL workers to ensure that their work pays them fairly and treats them with respect.
If you’re with us, pitch in now to support our organizing for workers everywhere and a government that will protect us all.
Contribute $10 »
In solidarity,
Working Families Party
Source:
1. Actors Join Writers on Strike, Bringing Hollywood to a Standstill, The New York Times, July 13, 2023
2. Why celebrities are striking: The average pay for actors may surprise you, CNN Business, July 17, 2023
3. Hollywood Studios’ WGA Strike Endgame Is To Let Writers Go Broke Before Resuming Talks In Fall, Deadline, July 11, 2023
4. SAG-AFTRA is fighting a dystopian AI takeover so you don't have to, Deadline, July 18, 2023
