STORY UPDATE:
The 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike officially came to an end at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 9 after union negotiators approved a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Union members nationwide subsequently voted to ratify new, multiyear contracts covering TV, theatrical and streaming production on Dec. 5.
TRANSCRIPT:
MICHAEL TAMSURIYAMIT, REPORTER:
Since July 14, SAG-AFTRA, the union representing nearly 160,000 media creatives nationwide, has been on strike for a better contract.
Though negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are well underway, one more day of strike means another day without work for many union members.
I went down to the picket line outside the Warner Brothers and Netflix office in Lower Manhattan, and here are some of the local voices and stories behind the movement.
(OPENING SOUND: Drums, tambourine tapping and indiscernible background chatter)
RACHEL POVSE, ACTRESS:
So I am an actress. I joined the union in 2016.
JAMES HIGHTOWER, ACTOR:
I’ve been an actor since I was a kid. I joined SAG-AFTRA about three years ago.
JO-ANNE LEE, ACTRESS:
I started out as a dancer. I kind of fell into acting via stage combat.
MAX GALLO, ACTOR:
I made a big pivot from, you know, a more traditional career working in like a corporate job.
(NAT SOUND: Strikers shouting the “what do we want” chant)
What do we want? (contracts!)
When do we want it? (now!)
Until we get it? (shut it down!)
Until we get it? (shut it down!)
Until… we… get… it…? (shut… it… down!)
JOSH EVANS, ACTOR:
We want to be back at work. We just want to be back at work under a contract that we think is fair for all of our members.
LEE:
It’s just only fair for the artists who create the work to just get fairly compensated, so that we can apply for, you know, qualify for health insurance.
POVSE:
So I just lost my health insurance at the end of September, and it’s a struggle. I have, you know, healthcare expenses that I have to deal with and that’s a big, big, big issue for me.
ASHLEY WEISMANTEL, ACTRESS:
I think it's so important to make sure people understand, you are watching that show, but there's this huge team behind that entire show that you are watching and getting entertained by.
HIGHTOWER:
We're the people that make this content. We're the creatives that people keep coming back to watch these TV shows and these movies, so we need to be paid what we're worth and what we deserve.
SUE BERCH, STRIKE CAPTAIN:
Ted is one of the two co-CEOs of Netflix, and they’re each going to make 51 million and 50 million this year.
(NAT SOUND: Strikers booing and drums playing)
BERCH:
I think we should tell Ted. Ted up here, hey Ted!
(NAT SOUND: Strikers chanting for Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos to “come back to the table”)
Hey Ted, come back to the table!
Oh Ted, come back to the table!
ABRAHAM SPARROW, ACTOR:
When people ask me, “what do we want,” what we want right now is simply for them to even sit at the table with us because they are not coming to the table. We're ready to negotiate, and they refuse to do so.
ANTHONY MORRISON, WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA (WGA) MEMBER:
They were here when we fought for AI protections, and we got them in our latest agreement, and we're here supporting them in the same battle. So they deserve fair wages, they deserve access to healthcare, and they deserve not to have their image stolen from them for no pay.
(NAT SOUND: Strikers singing the “we are the union” chant)
We are the union, (we are the union)
The mighty, mighty union, (the mighty, mighty union)
Marching for justice, (marching for justice)
Fighting for fair wages (fighting for fair wages)
EVANS: When I look out on the line today and I see a diversity of faces and talk to members and ask them what are the contracts that you work under, I find out that there are members who work under contracts that I've never worked under, but it's still important for them to show up to support me and for me to show up to support them.
WEISMANTEL:
The one word that comes to my mind is unity, like everybody coming together. Even if they're not in this industry, I feel this massive amount of support from across the world, where people are actually interested to ask questions, to understand better.
GALLO:
There's going to be people that aren't even in this union yet that are going to join eventually, and we want to make sure that it's a good place, and that we've done our work to keep it a place that people want to be a part of.
POVSE: I think the beauty is there will be kind of an explosion of creative work coming in the future, which is what excites me.
SPARROW:
This is your fight because this is going to come to your job or your home next, and if we don't win, it's going to be easier for them to beat you.
(NAT SOUND: Strike Captain Sue leading the “one day longer, one day stronger” closing chant)
One day longer (one day stronger!)
One day longer (one day stronger!)
One day longer (one day stronger!)
BERCH:
You guys are awesome!
(CLOSING SOUND: Strikers cheering with joy and drum finale repertoire)