Deadline got a guest column with SAG-AFTRA Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland as he expressed what’s happening with the SAG-AFTRA strike. In addition to a shut-down Hollywood, this would be the first time in 60 years that both SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America have gone on strike at the same time. When the strike commenced, there have been photos, videos, and headlines covering actors and writers standing together on the picket lines demanding fairness within the industry.

Earlier today, Netflix scheduled its first earning call since the strike to help resume their closed productions, and the strikers continue making moves by avoiding promotion for big movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer. The SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America are risking their livelihoods as they are sending a message to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers as the industry is heavily impacted by the reluctance of the AMPTP to offer a fair deal to workers. As actors median salary in 2021 was $46,960 with a lower quartile of $30,040, while the studio profits $12 billion per year.

Even though strikes aren’t ideal,  SAG-AFTRA’s members stand stronger against cruelty with 160,000 members taking a stand and making demands that they get compensation based on economic fairness, protection against actors and performers having their identities and talent taken from them using AI without informed consent and payment, and meaningful sharing in revenue from streaming platforms built on actors’ back.