SAG-AFTRA joins the WGA on strike

I was planning on writing about the Outstanding nominees at this year's Creative Arts Emmy Awards, but then SAG-AFTRA voted to strike as Deadline reported.

SAG-AFTRA’s national board voted unanimously this morning to launch the guild’s first strike against the film and television industry since 1980. The strike is set to begin tonight one minute past midnight, with picketing at all the major studios.
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With the Writers Guild strike now in its 73rd day, this will be the first time that actors and writers have been on strike at the same time since 1960, when Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild.

Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke off late Wednesday night with no agreement on terms for a new contract. The guild’s negotiating committee then unanimously recommended that the board approve a strike. On June 5, the guild’s members voted 98% in favor of authorizing a strike if a fair deal couldn’t be achieved.

Watch PBS NewsHour's live stream Screen Actors Guild president Fran Drescher announces unanimous vote to go on strike.


I watched this live and Fran Drescher was angry and sad. She said she tried to avert a strike, but the producers association, which represents the studios, wasn't cooperating. They're coming off like they're trying to put the actors and writers in what they think are their places. The actors and writers aren't having it.

I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling what I wrote most recently in Actors strike postponed while negotiations continue while writers still striking.

Here's to SAG-AFTRA, the WGA, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) reaching agreements that all of them can live with. Otherwise, there will be two strikes in Hollywood next month. As I wrote in Vox explains 'How streaming caused the TV writers strike', "We viewers should care more about the people who create what we watch...We don't want the executives to accidentally kill the geese that lay the golden eggs."

I simultaneously think this strike is necessary and that it could be a disaster for all involved if it goes badly. I know I'm right on the first and hope I'm wrong on the second.

I'll have more on both strikes. In the meantime, stay tuned for Bastille Day, the third patriotic holiday in July I observe on this blog.