SAG-AFTRA vote to go on strike
- Thread starter Morpheus 02
- Start date
And here's Wil's Facebook post:
In 1960, SAG and WGA struck to force management to adapt to the new technology of television. Without that strike and the agreement it birthed, residual use payments would not exist.
My parents stole nearly all of my salary from my entire childhood. My Star Trek residuals were all I had, and they kept me afloat for two decades while I rebuilt my life. I have healthcare and a pension because of my union. The AMPTP billionaires want to take all that security away so they can give CEOs even more grotesque wealth at the expense of the people who make our industry run.
To give some sense of what is at stake: There are actors who star in massively successful, profitable, critically acclaimed shows that are all on streaming services. You see them all the time. They are famous, A-list celebrities. Nearly all of those actors don't earn enough to qualify for health insurance, because the studios forced them to accept a buyout for all their residuals (decade of reuse, at the least) that is less than I earned for one week on TNG. And I was the lowest paid cast member in 1988. They want to do this while studio profits and CEO compensation are at historic highs.
I mean, if not now, when? And I haven't even touched on AI and working conditions.
We must fight for the future of our industry in the face of changing technology, the same way our elders did in 1960. So today, my Spacemom and I went to the place where it started for us, way back when, to do just that.
I see all your support. It means so much. Thank you.
#sagaftrastrong
#WGAsolidarity
#CRUSHERS
#UnitedtoCRUSHtheGREED
My parents stole nearly all of my salary from my entire childhood. My Star Trek residuals were all I had, and they kept me afloat for two decades while I rebuilt my life. I have healthcare and a pension because of my union. The AMPTP billionaires want to take all that security away so they can give CEOs even more grotesque wealth at the expense of the people who make our industry run.
To give some sense of what is at stake: There are actors who star in massively successful, profitable, critically acclaimed shows that are all on streaming services. You see them all the time. They are famous, A-list celebrities. Nearly all of those actors don't earn enough to qualify for health insurance, because the studios forced them to accept a buyout for all their residuals (decade of reuse, at the least) that is less than I earned for one week on TNG. And I was the lowest paid cast member in 1988. They want to do this while studio profits and CEO compensation are at historic highs.
I mean, if not now, when? And I haven't even touched on AI and working conditions.
We must fight for the future of our industry in the face of changing technology, the same way our elders did in 1960. So today, my Spacemom and I went to the place where it started for us, way back when, to do just that.
I see all your support. It means so much. Thank you.
#sagaftrastrong
#WGAsolidarity
#CRUSHERS
#UnitedtoCRUSHtheGREED
I was pondering the end of the Studio System in 1948. Before that everyone had multi-year contacts and were assigned to movies. Less creative but certainly more fiscally stable. I was wondering if there was any positive inspiration to be taken from the old system, if Hollywood needs to rebuild its business model. I note that the Paramount Decrees, which forced the Studios to sell their theaters (and thus the guaranteed income that allowed the multi-year contracts), were reversed in 2020. So Studios have full reign to experiment with vertical integration again.
What killed the old studio system?
I would suspect antitrust laws and someone coming forward to challnge the practice based on those
I don’t mind people getting paid fairly, but multi millionaires can afford their own insurance. Some of these celebrities whining act like they are destitute. They probably spend every dollar they make.
Oh, for fuck's sake.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE A-LISTERS!!! MOST ACTORS ARE NOT CELEBRITIES!
And, yes, apparently I have to put this in all-caps, since it's been pointed out repeatedly, and it's still being ignored. If you hear a rich celebrity actor talk about the strike and how the studios fuck actors over, they are not whining, they are using their privileged plattform to show solidarity with their less fortunate fellow actors.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE A-LISTERS!!! MOST ACTORS ARE NOT CELEBRITIES!
And, yes, apparently I have to put this in all-caps, since it's been pointed out repeatedly, and it's still being ignored. If you hear a rich celebrity actor talk about the strike and how the studios fuck actors over, they are not whining, they are using their privileged plattform to show solidarity with their less fortunate fellow actors.
SAG-AFTRA members must earn $26,470 per quarter in four consecutive quarters (on SAG-AFTRA-sanctioned projects), or work at least 102 days on union-sanctioned projects within a year, in order to be eligible for a year of healthcare benefits.
Something like 87 percent of SAG-AFTRA members do not get enough work to meet this threshold. Ke Huy Quan literally lost his healthcare because Everything Everywhere All At Once was filmed in 2020 and wasn't released until 2022, so he didn't get any work in 2021 / 22 and he lost his coverage.
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I referenced it here:
But to go into more detail, the Justice Department sued all the studios, (Paramount Pictures being the largest) over owning its own theater chains. Paramount (et al) lost and all US studios were eventually forced to sell their theaters. Without the relatively predictable steady income from vertical integration and things like block booking, coupled with the rise of TV, they could no longer afford to keep all the talent on staff all the time, killing the multi-year contract.
Interestingly, Howard Hughes owned RKO at the time and his capitulation killed the studios main argument when fighting the ruling. It didn't help RKO the way he thoughtit would, and eventually the studio lot got sold to Desilu, and now we have Star Trek.
The Paramount Decree was lifted in 2020, as the (Trump) Justice Department said the original vertical integration was now impossible, and the rules were an unfair handicap since they didn't apply to streaming studios like Amazon and Netflix.
But I keep coming back to the idea of the multi-year contract for talent, both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. It would remove much of the instability, but would also make it harder to get into the industry, amongst other effects.
It would be terribly regressive in terms of labor rights to return to studios basically owning their actors' and directors' lives for a period of time. "Oh, you don't want to make this piece of shit movie? Tough rocks, this contract says you have to do what we say. Show up on Monday or we'll see you in court."
But how is that any different from any other salaried job? I don't get to decide I don't want to work on the next project my department gets assigned.
It's $26,470 per coverage year, not per quarter.
You must meet the Eligibility Threshold (currently $26,470) in Covered Earnings during your 12-month Base Earnings Period.
https://www.sagaftraplans.org/health/benefits/spd/qualifying-sag-aftra-health-plan-coverage
You can quit, though. You're not on a seven-year-contract during which your employer owns your existence. Labor's right to self-determination should come first. "If I don't want to work at this particular job, then I won't."
Fair enough, but just because the idea takes inspiration from the old contracts doesn't mean a new version has to be so draconian.
If you think that the AMPTP wouldn't make a return to the studio system as draconian as humanly possible, I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you. They would love to crush the unions and put everyone under their heel.
look, I don't know how much is true. Take the above photo of Gate McFadden, Patrick Stewart makes $450K per episode, even if she gets 1/2 per episode, she must have retired w/ millions. So I still having a hard time believing these stories.
Even an adult film actress, they make $1.2K per scene, and a good no. of them still ends up have a few millions on their net worth, so how can a main stream actor / actress not make more than that?
A) Gates McFadden is still not anywhere close to being an average actor. The average actor is the guy playing guest star no 3 hoping to eventually get a big break.
B) Porn is completely irrelevant. It's an entirely different industry.
C) Getting paid a certain amount per episode is always far more impressive sounding then it actually is. Those episodes don't go on forever. That money has to cover all their expenses for all the time that they have work and *also* all the time in which they have no work at all, which for a struggling actor can be *most* of the time, which is why most of them wind up moonlighting as waiters and other low-paying jobs. And, as has been mentioned, if they don't get enough work they also have to pay their health care out of pocket.
I'm convinced you are concern trolling at this point. At the very least, you're throwing up strawman arguments.
wait a minute, that's not how any industry works. She work for 7 season, plus loyalty on re-air episodes, PC games, comic con, etc.
there is approx. 26 episodes per season, w/ all that money, she would have take the $, buy a house in cash, and can easily retired on either savings or those loyalty. So your story doesn't check out
Fuckin' whoosh.
The point was that McFadden is not the average member of SAG-AFTRA.
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