EDITOR’S NOTE: At a press conference Thursday, SAG-AFTRA announced it was officially going on strike effective at midnight. The union’s president, Fran Drescher, gave a speech targeting Hollywood CEOs for their greed and told them they were “on the wrong side of history.”
Drescher told the studio bosses in the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) that they “cannot change the business model as much as it has changed and not expect the contract to change too.” She was referring to the shrinking residuals that actors, writers, and others receive as a result of the streaming television and movie model. Residuals have traditionally made up a major part of the income stream for entertainment industry workers.
Also mentioned at the press conference was an AI proposal made by the studios during the negotiations which would pay actors a single day’s pay to have their likeness scanned by a computer but then give studios the right to use their likeness forever without any pay or consent.
Drescher’s remarks stand as a rousing indictment of Hollywood corporate greed and sound a call for the whole labor movement to take notice of this struggle. Her speech at the press conference is reproduced in full below.
REMARKS DELIVERED BY SAG-AFTRA PRESIDENT FRAN DRESCHER
JULY 13, 2023
The eyes of the world and particularly the eyes of labor are upon us. What happens here is important because what’s happening to us is happening across all fields of labor by means of when employers make Wall Street and greed their priority, and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run.
We have a problem, and we are experiencing that right at this moment. This is a very seminal hour for us. I went in in earnest, thinking that we would be able to avert a strike. 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. Not only members of this union but people who work in other industries that service the people that work in this industry. And so, it came with great sadness that we came to this crossroads, 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 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.
We stand in solidarity, in unprecedented unity. Our union and our sister unions and the unions around the world are standing by us, as well as other labor unions, because at some point, the jig is up. You cannot keep being dwindled and marginalized and disrespected and dishonored. The entire business model has been changed by streaming, digital, and AI. This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble.
We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines and big business, who cares more about Wall Street than you and your family. Most Americans don’t have more than $500 in an emergency. This is a very big deal, and it weighed heavy on us. But at some point, you have to say, “No, we’re not going to take this anymore. You people are crazy. What are you doing? Why are you doing this?”
Privately, they all say we’re the center of the wheel. Everybody else tinkers around our artistry, but actions speak louder than words, and there was nothing there. It was insulting. So, we came together in strength and solidarity and unity with the largest strike authorization vote in our union’s history. And we made the hard decision that we tell you as we stand before you today.
This is major. It’s really serious, and it’s going to impact every single person that is in labor. We are fortunate enough to be in a country right now that happens to be labor-friendly. And yet, we were facing opposition that was so labor-unfriendly, so tone-deaf to what we are saying. You cannot change the business model as much as it has changed and not expect the contract to change too.
We’re not going to keep doing incremental changes on a contract that no longer honors what is happening right now with this business model that was foisted upon us. What are we doing—moving around furniture on the Titanic? It’s crazy.
So, the jig is up, AMPTP. We stand tall. You have to wake up and smell the coffee. We are labor, and we stand tall. We demand respect and to be honored for our contribution. You share the wealth because you cannot exist without us. Thank you.
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