SAG-AFTRA Votes to Join WGA in Strike Against Studios

(Image credit: Getty)

Actors union SAG-AFTRA voted overwhelmingly on Monday to strike against Hollywood studios if the union's new contract is not ratified by the time it expires on June 30.

The union, which has 160,000 members, voted 97.7% in favor of the strike and if an agreement isn't reached by the end of this month, they will join the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in an ongoing strike against Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in a walked out that began May 2. The union will begin negotiations with the AMPTP on Wednesday, June 7.

This marks the first potential actors strike in more than four decades—the last one occurred in 1980 when the two unions (which merged in 2012 joined forces to strike against Hollywood studios in a walkout that lasted three months.

That walkout, as well as the strike in 1987-88, revolved around residuals for home video and pay-TV. The current standoff between the writers and studios involves disagreements over work environments, AI and streaming.

The announcement of the potential strike came on the same day that the Directors Guild of America announced a new agreement with AMPTP, which it reached over the weekend. WGA said that that new contract would have little to no effect on its walkout.

“The strike authorization votes have been tabulated and the membership joined their elected leadership and negotiating committee in favor of strength and solidarity,” said SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher. “I’m proud of all of you who voted as well as those who were vocally supportive, even if unable to vote. Everyone played a part in this achievement. Together we lock elbows and in unity we build a new contract that honors our contributions in this remarkable industry, reflects the new digital and streaming business model and brings ALL our concerns for protections and benefits into the now! Bravo SAG-AFTRA, we are in it to win it.”

AMPTP was more brief, saying that it is “approaching these negotiations with the goal of achieving a new agreement that is beneficial to SAG-AFTRA members and the industry overall.”

Tom has covered the broadcast technology market for the past 25 years, including three years handling member communications for the National Association of Broadcasters followed by a year as editor of Video Technology News and DTV Business executive newsletters for Phillips Publishing. In 1999 he launched digitalbroadcasting.com for internet B2B portal Verticalnet. He is also a charter member of the CTA's Academy of Digital TV Pioneers. Since 2001, he has been editor-in-chief of TV Tech (www.tvtech.com), the leading source of news and information on broadcast and related media technology and is a frequent contributor and moderator to the brand’s Tech Leadership events.