The Hollywood Reporter
Less than a week before the expiration of its current film and television deal, SAG-AFTRA is calling for members to step up and offer to volunteer in the event of an industry strike.
In a message sent to members on Thursday, the performers’ union asked its 160,000 members to fill out a survey gauging their availability to picket and interest in becoming member leaders in the event of a film and television work stoppage. “SAG-AFTRA may soon call for a strike – a work stoppage, to put pressure on AMPTP companies to give us a fair deal on new TV/Theatrical Contracts,” the survey stated. “Part of waging a successful strike is picketing, where members peacefully protest outside of struck companies’ work locations to draw public attention to our cause, shut down production, and discourage strikebreakers. We need as many volunteers as possible to be effective.”
The message accompanying the survey told members not to worry about committing to any particular tasks yet. “By taking this survey, you’re not obligating yourself to help, but it will help us make informed decisions about our members and resources if we ever need to ask for your assistance,” the union stated.
The survey asked if members were able to picket as part of their Local in the event of a strike (though, the union noted, not all Locals will be involved in picketing) and queried which times they would prefer to demonstrate if so. The survey offered several potential volunteer activities for members — observing neutral gates, making signs, phone banking, leading chants and being a strike captain, among others — and asked survey participants to flag their interest in any of them. Members open to stepping up as strike captains could do so in one of three capacities: as a studio lot picket coordinator (someone managing overall picketing at a studio location, akin to the Writers Guild of America’s lot coordinators during its current strike), assistant studio lot picket coordinator (a person assisting the studio lot picket coordinator in their duties) or gate picket captain (someone who oversees picketing at particular production location gates).
The union further asked if members spoke any other languages, and if they would be “willing or interested in using that language in strike support activities.” Members were asked to flag if they could picket in Los Angeles and New York “in the coming days” and asked to rank their preferences for particular picketing locations in L.A. including Amazon/Culver Studios, CBS Radford, CBS Television City, Disney, Fox, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. (These are also current WGA strike picket locations, which could lead to a crowded situation if SAG-AFTRA does indeed strike.)
Members were further surveyed on their demographic and contact information, their membership category, the roles they typically work in (i.e. are they day players, singers, dancers or series regulars) and which Local they belong to.
On Friday, SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains on behalf of major entertainment companies, opted to extend the expiration date for their current TV/theatrical contract package from June 30 to July 12. SAG-AFTRA framed this extension to its members not as a sign of “weakness,” but rather an attempt to “exhaust every opportunity to achieve the righteous contract we all demand and deserve.” The union could call a strike, its first targeting film and television companies in four decades, as soon as that extension ends after 11:59 p.m. on July 12.
In recent weeks, the industry has been bracing for a potential double strike, as writers remain out on the picket lines while they wait for their union and the AMPTP to head back to the bargaining table. As of Thursday, one WGA source told The Hollywood Reporter that the writers’ union was seeking to recruit more strike captains in part to offer additional support at picket locations if SAG-AFTRA does strike. (The WGA declined comment.)
The WGA has already halted a good deal of physical production since it called a strike on May 2: Not only have union writers ceased working, they’ve also targeted ongoing projects with on-location pickets. However, a SAG-AFTRA strike would bring any remaining union filming to a screeching halt.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland seemed to suggest talks with employers were going well in a video in late June. “We’re standing strong and we’re going to achieve a seminal deal,” Drescher said. But with Thursday’s member survey, it seems the union is hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
