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How the Hollywood WGA Writers & SAG-AFTRA Actors Strikes Miss the Mark on Black Folks



*Attorney Antonio Moore looks at the Hollywood strikes between studios and writers/actors and contextualizes them against race, lineage, and nepotism in the movie and television industry. Click the video above for Moore’s full commentary.

Here’s what we published earlier about the strike:

*New York (CNN) — The union (SAG-AFTRA) representing about 160,000 Hollywood actors is going on strike after talks with major studios and streaming services have failed.

It is the first time its members have stopped work on movie and television productions since 1980 after a final day of negotiations on Wednesday did not produce an agreement.


Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, the union, said in a statement the studio management’s offers were “insulting and disrespectful.”

“The companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us,” she said. “Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal.”

The union said its governing board approved a strike after the negotiating committee had unanimously recommended it Thursday morning.

At a news conference at the union’s headquarters in Los Angeles, Drescher said the union would not accept changes to the contract that do not match up to the changes happening in the industry.


SAG-AFTRA strike

“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,” she said at the news conference. “What are we doing? Moving around furniture on the Titanic? It’s crazy.”

The union’s rank-and-file members had already voted 98% in favor of authorizing a strike.

The body representing studios and streaming services said it was “deeply disappointed” in the decision to strike, saying it had offered “historic” pay increases.

“Rather than continuing to negotiate, SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods,” said a statement from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).



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