SAG-AFTRA held its largest and most star-studded rally yet Tuesday in Times Square in a picket sign-waving show of solidarity 12 days into
A day after a Variety report that have hit picket lines thus far, the rally Tuesday boasted more star wattage than perhaps any single strike action yet. Among those joining throngs of demonstrators were Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Brendan Fraser, Ellen Burstyn, Wendell Pierce, Steve Buscemi, Rachel Zegler, Michael Shannon, Jane Curtin, Christian Slater and Chloe Grace Moretz.
Taking up a full city block, actors and representatives from the actors union took turns giving fiery speeches on a stage in the heart of Times Square while tourists gawked and passing trucks honked in support. At times, the actors took aim at the corporate lights and billboards around them, including the Walt Disney-owned ESPN and ABC studios that sat alongside the rally.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a message to Mr. Iger,鈥� said Cranston, directing his comments at Disney CEO Bob Iger. 鈥淚 know, sir, that you look through things from a different lens. We don鈥檛 expect you to understand who we are but we ask you to hear us, and beyond that, to listen to us when we tell you we will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots. We will not have you take away our right to work and earn a decent living.鈥�
The rally took place a stone鈥檚 throw from Broadway theaters and, given the talent involved, featured a higher degree of show business than your usual labor rally. 鈥淎vatar鈥� actor Stephen Lang quoted Frederick Douglass. Wendell Pierce recited Samuel Beckett. Tituss Burgess didn鈥檛 speak; he sang Stephen Sondheim.
Arian Moayed, who played the investor Stewy Hosseini in 鈥淪uccession,鈥� compared the characters of the HBO series to the studio executives the actors are negotiating with.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like these people haven鈥檛 seen (expletive) 鈥楽uccession,鈥欌�� Moayed exclaimed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about you!鈥�
Christine Baranski of 鈥淭he Good Wife鈥� and 鈥淭he Good Fight鈥� likewise drew from her own credits.
鈥淲e will not live under corporate feudalism. It is time, it is just simply time to make things right. Our contribution will not be undervalued, and we will not be robbed,鈥� said Baranski before concluding: 鈥淟et鈥檚 fight the good fight!鈥�
Earlier this month, who walked out in May. It鈥檚 the first time both unions have been on strike at the same time since 1960. The stoppage has shuttered nearly all film and television production. Actors say the streaming revolution has altered pay in entertainment, and remaking working conditions. They are also seeking guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence, along with increases to the union鈥檚 health care and pension programs.
鈥淥ur industry has changed exponentially,鈥� said Cranston. 鈥淲e are not in the same business model that we were in even 10 years ago. And yet, even though they admit that that鈥檚 the truth in today鈥檚 economy, they are fighting us tooth and nail to stick to the same economic system that is outmoded, outdated. They want us to step back in time.鈥�
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which is negotiating on behalf of studios, has said it presented actors with a generous deal that included the biggest bump in minimum pay in 35 years among other benefits. Since talks broke off and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists commenced the strike, the sides have not negotiated and no talks are scheduled.
鈥淲e may be on strike but I said to them on July 12 we are ready to continue talking tomorrow and every day after until we reach a deal,鈥� said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA. 鈥淎nd I鈥檝e said that every day since to the media, to them, to anyone who would listen. SAG-AFTRA is ready, willing and able to return to the bargaining table.
鈥淭he only reason we aren鈥檛 there now is because those companies said that they didn鈥檛 want to deal with people who were uncivilized and because those companies said they wouldn鈥檛 be ready to talk for quite some time,鈥� added Crabtree-Ireland.
Many actors Tuesday cast the strike in personal terms. Slater said the union鈥檚 health care helped sustain his father鈥檚 life. Slater鈥檚 father, the actor Michael Hawkins, died last November. Liza Col贸n-Zayas, the 51-year-old Bronx-born actor of the Hulu hit series 鈥淭he Bear,鈥� said her lifetime of hard work isn鈥檛 paying off.
鈥淚 have struggled 35 years to get here only to find residuals have dwindled exponentially,鈥� said Col贸n-Zayas. 鈥淚f you can announce the highest-viewed this and the highest profits in that, then you can track our residuals. So we need to come to the table but we need to come to the table in good faith that there will be transparency in how we are being paid by streaming. We need you to open the books.鈥�
READ ALSO:
