Lily Kholar's blog : SAG-AFTRA On Strike After Talks Fall Through
To the surprise of almost no one in the
industry, SAG-AFTRA has now joined the WAG on strike after failing to secure a
new contract deal before the extended July 12th deadline. Blake & Wang
P.A.’s Brandon Blake, our local entertainment lawyer, has the full details so
far.
Work Stoppage Over 2 Guilds
This means that, as of Friday 14th July,
SAG-AFTRA’s 160,000 performers will join the ongoing work stoppage called in
May by the roughly 11,500-strong WGA. Their issues are similar- an inability to
reach a consensus about AI (and protections against it), residuals, and minimum
rates. The knock-on effects of the WGA downing tools were already being felt as
broadcasters sought to solidify their fall lineups, but with SAG-AFTRA added to
the fray, it effectively means the industry is on strike, with few (if any)
opportunities for below-the-line workers. For SAG-AFTRA, this is the first
strike in 43 years, and we haven’t seen a simultaneous strike from these two
unions since 1960.
In many ways, the strike climate is indicative
of a deeper gulf opening within the American entertainment industry- one in
which streamers and studios have pushed into less lucrative streaming world, while
the workers feel that not enough is reaching their pockets. Despite a
willingness to extend the original June 30th deadline to 12th July, SAG-AFTRA
claimed that very little was achieved with the extension and claimed studios as
‘combative’ and unwilling to negotiate. Is it ‘the most important strike in
Hollywood’s history’ as is being claimed? That can only be decided by history
and outcomes, but it is certainly a great indicator of the era of perceived
scarcity we’ve entered, accelerated by the abrupt streaming pivot and pandemic
disruptions (and a Wall Street that now sees profit as the only acceptable
benchmark for success).
Boosting the WGA
It’s important to remember that this is 2
unions striking near-simultaneously, with their own negotiations and members to
consider, not actually a ‘joint’ or ‘solidarity’ strike from SAG-AFTRA.
However, there can be no doubt that the loss of talent from sets- especially
A-list talent- will cause considerably more tangible disruption than the
shutdown from the writing side, where only late-night shows took an immediate
hit, and no doubt the WGA are glad to have that impact in their favor. It will
certainly accelerate the need to begin pursuing a real attempt at negotiation.
The now-infamous 2008 writer’s strike is
predicted to have cost about $2.8B economically adjusted to modern currency.
The 1980 actors' strike cost around $40M a week in lost expenditure- including
knock-on effects to other service industries and goods, and caused a ripple of
terrible job losses through below-the-line employees. Yet it is hard to imagine
how studios expected the notion of stop-capture generative AI that would allow
the use of an actor’s ‘digital persona’ in perpetuity for no further
compensation was ever going to be agreeable. Yet in a climate where nearly all
we see is cost-cutting from studios desperate to appeal to Wall Street’s
stringent demands in a weakening economy, we can debate whether they are,
indeed ‘playing poverty’ or would truly struggle to accommodate a new and
stringent set of demands. It certainly echoes the same cries we saw around the
1980s strike, when VHS technology was new, however.
Either way, both labor groups seem to be
willing to weather a long work stoppage. What this means for them, and the
industry as a whole, remains to be seen- but it will be an industry-changing
result, that is guaranteed.
In:
- Digital
- Expert