On Tuesday morning, SAG-AFTRA held a rally called “Rock the City for a Fair Contract” in New York Times Square, protesting their unfair conditions and promoting their efforts for a more fair contract. At the end of it all, it was the largest rally in the state since the guild’s strikes officially began on July 14th.

The rally was set up in the center of a barricaded plaza, where a temporary stage was built for the actors and officials that wished to speak on behalf of the union. From Bryan Cranston to chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, it was a near-crushing amount of people, resulting in only one case of required medical assistance. Their speeches were impassioned pleas to the AMPTP to take their demands seriously.

Throughout the rally, the speakers gave insight into the poor wages and insurance they receive and the ever-encroaching rise of AI technology infringing on their images. Law and Order star Jill Hennessy even cracked a joke about the latter issue, stating, “You are never gonna get speeches like this from a digital replica.” The speakers also criticized the AMPTP for calling their demands unrealistic (as infamously stated by Disney CEO Bob Iger), begging them to properly discuss a better contract instead of brushing them aside. “We are fighting for the survival of our craft,” TV commentator Nancy Giles proclaimed.

Even if the rally did not bring out studio executives to talk, there is still some hope that the strike will end soon and that their voices will be heard. “You know what? [The strike] could end today,” Law and Order: Special Victims Unit star Micelle Hurd notes. “All that has to happen is that the AMPTP needs to show up and bargain fairly.”