Last week, a staggering 65,000 Hollywood actors joined the picket lines, halting productions in a battle for increased pay in the face of rising inflation and a rapidly changing entertainment industry. These performers argue that the income they rely on, which stems from residuals earned from movie and television appearances, has significantly decreased in the streaming era, making it nearly impossible for the majority of actors to sustain a living. However, the studios, including Apple, Amazon, Netflix, NBCUniversal, Sony, and Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, have refused to negotiate pay raises and revenue sharing for streaming. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher expressed her disappointment, stating that most members do not even meet the income threshold for health insurance and that the studios prioritized showcasing profits to shareholders instead of prioritizing fairness and integrity.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), representing the studios, claims that SAG-AFTRA has misrepresented their position. According to AMPTP, the deal offered to the unions was valued at over $1 billion, covering wage increases, pension and health contributions, residual increases, and offering first-of-its-kind protections, including Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) regulations.
Understanding the primary points of contention in the strike is crucial. SAG-AFTRA highlights two main issues – the demand for higher pay and stricter regulations on the usage of A.I. in creative projects. Actors are seeking an 11% raise to baseline rates for this year and an 8% raise over the next two years to mitigate the effects of rapid inflation. In contrast, the studios have countered with an offer of 5% for this year and 7.5% for the following two years. AMPTP emphasizes that their offer includes “the highest percentage increase in minimums in 35 years.”
The strike also revolves around the impact of streaming services on actors’ earnings. Residual payments, which previously served as a stable income for actors, have dwindled due to streaming. Unlike traditional reruns, streaming platforms do not compensate actors each time an episode or movie is viewed. Instead, performers receive a reduced amount upfront for availability on the platform. As a result, even prominent actors starring in successful series earn significantly less from streaming work. SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, asserts that the current model undervalues actors, hampering their financial stability.
Additionally, the threat posed by A.I. plays a significant role in the strike. Actors are seeking robust safeguards to prevent their likenesses from being exploited for A.I. training purposes and to ensure job security. For background actors, this becomes particularly worrisome, as small roles among large casts can serve as career breakthroughs. Crabtree-Ireland highlights the concerning proposal that background performers could be scanned, paid for a single day’s work, and have their likeness owned indefinitely by the company, without consent or compensation.
Though an AMPTP spokesperson refuted this characterization, stating that the studios’ proposal only permits the use of a background actor’s digital replica within the employed motion picture and any other use requires consent and bargaining, subject to minimum payment.
While a select few A-list stars enjoy exorbitant paychecks amounting to millions of dollars per film, the majority of working actors, who lack household recognition, earn significantly less. Approximately 87% of SAG-AFTRA members earn below the $26,000 annual threshold for health coverage through the union. On a national level, the median hourly pay for actors last year was close to $18, with hourly rates in California at $27.73 and in New York at $63.39. However, these rates only translate to substantial income if actors secure consistent, full-time work. Unfortunately, most actors face intermittent employment, leading many to balance additional jobs alongside their acting careers.
It is important to note that while some CBS News staff members belong to SAG-AFTRA, they operate under a separate contract and are unaffected by the ongoing strike.
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