Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1506201
sagaftra.org | Summer 2023 | SAG-AFTRA 5 A Letter from the Executive Vice President B E N W H I T E H A I R E nough already. We are at a pivotal moment in acting history, and have been pushed to the brink. As actors, we love our work. But our passion for our craft won't pay the rent. Our years of drama training won't put food on the table. One showstopping performance doesn't pay the phone bill. The studio heads are making more money in a day than most of us make in multiple years. And yet, they view paying their creatives as a bothersome expense that cuts into their bottom line. I hope the strike is over by the time you read these words. Truly. If it is, it's because employers finally returned to the bargaining table, ready to pay us a living wage and agreeing to some basic guidelines that will keep the acting profession a viable career choice. And if that happened, it was because of you. Even if it hasn't yet, I am confident that it will. Because even at the very real personal cost of going on strike, you are willing to picket in the hot sun. To rally your peers and allies, within and outside of the industry. Because you post your support on social media and shout from the sidewalks, and you won't be silenced. This is a seminal time, where workers across the country and around the world are waking up to wage compression — not just in our industry, but across the economy. Between 1979–2021, worker productivity increased 64.4%, while wages inched up a paltry 17.3%, according to the Economic Policy Institute. So, who has been benefiting from this bounty if not the workers who created it? The people at the top of the economic ladder, of course. And the growing wealth gap isn't helping anyone except those at the very top. Research has shown that high levels of wealth inequality erode social cohesion and reduce quality of life by just about every metric, from crime to health. So, when we or any other workers are fighting for a living wage, it really is an attempt to lift all boats on a rising tide. And you know what the data confirms: Increased union membership translates directly to higher middle-class wages. At the time of this writing, the Teamsters have demonstrated the power of workers by reaching a tentative deal with UPS to improve their wages and working conditions. USA Today called it "a victory for labor across the board." That's why our struggle is a righteous one; there's so much more at stake in this strike than just our proposals to the AMPTP. It's about whether workers should share in the fruits of their labor or be kicked to the curb with mere scraps begrudgingly handed out by would-be feudal lords. Turning the tide won't be easy — it will take every one of us — but we have the power, and employers know it. If there was ever a time to be active in your union, this is it. We need you and every ally we can muster. Please read your emails from the union and visit sagaftrastrike.org to learn about all the ways you can help. Together is how we will prevail. I'll see you on the picket lines. In solidarity, Ben Whitehair "That's why our struggle is a righteous one; there's so much more at stake in this strike than just our proposals to the AMPTP."