Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1506201
Support is Available Where can those affected by a work stoppage turn? Emergency financial assistance may be available, as well as support groups and free career-enhancing classes and workshops at these partner organizations: SAG-AFTRA FOUNDATION sagaftra.foundation ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY FUND entertainmentcommunity.org MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION FUND mptf.com Your credit union may offer work disruption loans for its members. See story on page 30. Official strike swag available at sagaftrastrike.shop. For every item purchased, $5 will be donated to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Emergency Financial Assistance Program. Heeding the call to assist strike-affected performers, a number of high-profile SAG-AFTRA members rushed to make donations to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Emergency Financial Assistance program, many making gifts exceeding seven figures. At press time, over $15 million in contributions have been raised for the program, which will benefit thousands of journeyman actors facing economic hardship. Visit sagaftra.foundation for more. SAG-AFTRA FOUNDATION RECEIVES SURGE OF SUPPORT sagaftra.org | Summer 2023 | SAG-AFTRA 21 Katie Lowes and Mandy Moore Share your support, stories and photos on social media: #SAGAFTRAstrong #SAGAFTRAstrike #Power2Performers surge of newfound support for the striking WGA members. After SAG-AFTRA agreed to the AMPTP's compressed bargaining schedule, the studios and streamers subjected the union to repeated stonewalling and delays. Asking for a fair deal was met with the AMPTP's refusal, and on July 13, SAG-AFTRA announced that the National Board had voted unanimously to issue an order striking the TV/Theatrical Contracts. The dual strike made headlines around the world. It was the first time in over 60 years that both industry unions were on strike at the same time. From that 1960 strike came pension, health and residuals for actors in feature films licensed for showing on television. At a press conference announcing the strike order, National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland highlighted the horrific absurdity of the studios' so-called "groundbreaking" AI proposal. "They proposed that our background actors should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day's pay, and their company should own that scan, their image, their likeness and to be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want with no consent and no compensation," Crabtree-Ireland explained. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher's remarks instantly went viral across social media. "You cannot change the business model as much as it has changed and not expect the contract to change too," she said. "We're not going to keep doing incremental changes on a contract that no longer honors what is happening right now with this business model that was foisted upon us. What are we doing — moving around furniture on the Titanic? So the jig is up, AMPTP ... We are labor and we stand tall. We demand respect and to be honored for our contribution. You need to share the wealth, because you cannot exist without us!" THE ISSUES COMPENSATION Much of SAG-AFTRA's disagreement with the AMPTP boils down to simple economic fairness. U.S. inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, has grown by over 18% since the union's last contract went into effect in 2020. That contract was negotiated during the early months of the pandemic, at a time when everyone employed within the media and entertainment industries was eager to find a safe way to return to production, but in the last three years, inflation has eroded the value of those wage gains. In real-dollar-value terms, scale rates for actors in 2023 are now 10% lower than they were in 2020. During the recent negotiations, the studio's final wage offer would make up only half of the loss actors have experienced in their income. Accepting such terms would mean that performers would be paid 5% less in real-dollar terms over the next three years than they were paid in June of 2020. This is unacceptable. During the same period that has seen the erosion of actors' wages, streamers have demanded that consumers pay ever-higher prices, reflecting increases in excess of actual inflation. Among the companies increasing their prices are Paramount+, which has increased the price of its ad-free plan by 20%; Disney+ which has increased the monthly price of its U.S. ad-free plan by 37.5%; and Apple TV+, which has increased its monthly price by 40%.