Writers/Actors Strike Update (08/09/23)

“We had unprecedented strike authorization vote of 97.91%. They’re at the breaking point. This is do or die.” -Fran Drescher (President of SAG-AFTRA)

Now there’s👆 a Tiger😼

President of the Actors Union, Fran Drescher went on CNN yesterday to inform us that no deal, or even progress has been made. She also dropped several eye-opening statistics that I wanted to share with you. Here is the interview: (Statistics next paragraph).

Drescher’s Statistics

“86% of our members cannot meet the $26,500 USD / year threshold to get their medical benefits.”

86% percent of the 160,000 SAG/AFTRA union members make less than $26,500 per year…

Now, I google searched rent prices to help put this figure into perspective, and here’s what I found – The average rent price for a studio apartment in Los Angeles is currently $2,222 USD / month according to Hotpads.com. (Plus or minus a few hundred dollars on other rental sites). $2,222 USD / month, not including application fees, utilities, etc…

These astonishing figures beg the question, how were actors surviving before this strike, let alone during? In response to the question, prompted by CNN anchor, Victor Blackwell, Drescher replied, “First of all, they are the ones who wanted it. We had unprecedented strike authorization vote of 97.91%. They’re at the breaking point. This is do or die.”

What The Studios Have Offered

5% increase in base pay over 3 years. To which, Drescher countered, “that is (equivalently) less than we were making in 2020.” It does not even compensate for inflation. Nor will it compensate for the inflation continuing to rise through 2026.

I found these statistics very enlightening. And I wanted to share them with you. 97.91% of the actor’s union wished to go on strike, according to its president. This indicates tremendous solidarity / unity within this organization. The writers and actors (And also UPS workers, who recently succeeded in achieving their unionized demands) are leading the fight of our lifetimes. Let’s support them by giving this story publicity, raising awareness, and following their example. Lest we forfeit our livelihoods, our art, and our future to artificial intelligence and corporate greed.

Here is Ron Perlman (Hellboy) to take us out.