Global Courant 2023-05-31 07:13:21
A group of SAG-AFTRA members, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jean Smart and Bob Balaban, has released a video urging their fellow performers to approve the strike authorization that’s currently out for a vote of the guild’s eligible members.
The vote comes in advance of the guild’s upcoming negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which are set to start on June 7. A strike, if it comes to that, could not start before June 30, when the guild’s current contract expires.
The Directors Guild, meanwhile, is currently in negotiations with the AMPTP. Their contract also expires on June 30, and the Writers Guild has been on strike for 29 days.
“I’m asking you to join me in voting ‘yes’ on the strike authorization,” Louis-Dreyfus says on the video.
A “yes” vote, Smart says, “Just means that we give the national board the power to strike if the AMPTP does not give our members the essential contract improvements they need.”
See the video here:
SAG-AFTRA members: Vote YES to the Strike Authorization by June 5th!
Voting yes is NOT a vote to strike. It gives the board the POWER to strike if the AMPTP does not agree to the essential contract improvements our members need.
We’re a union, and a union stands together! pic.twitter.com/aSdTvb23WN
— Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@OfficialJLD) May 30, 2023
Major issues referenced in the video include increased compensation, residuals, self-taping and curbs on the use of artificial intelligence to replace actors. The deadline to vote is June 5 at 5 pm PT.
The other 16 actors who appear in the video are:
Paul W. Downs Abbi Jacobson Sophia Bush Jean Smart Julia Louis-Dreyfus John DiMaggio Aaron Jennings Coral Peña Bob Balaban Daveed Diggs Rafael Casal Matt Bush Jodi Balfour Lukas Gage Tom Pelphrey Sam Richardson Kumail Nanjiani D’Arcy Carden
