The woman at the helm of Hollywood’s biggest union, Fran Drescher is fighting for better pay for film and television actors and protection against artificial intelligence.
As president of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists)– the union representing 160,000 people– Drescher delivered a passionate address, saying, “we are the victims here. We are being victimised by a very greedy entity. I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us.”
Drescher’s fiery words have circulated widely online, giving the American actor due credit in her leadership for the cause. Before this many would be familiar with her popular 90’s tv role as star of The Nanny.
Just like her character, Fran Fine, on the show, Drescher’s fierce demeanour has added momentum to the actors’ cause as they join the Hollywood writers who went on strike in May for better wages and acknowledgement of the shifting business model amidst streaming platforms’ success.
“What happens here is important because what’s happening to us is happening across all fields of labour, when employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run,” said Drescher.
“I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things. How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history.”
SAG-AFTRA members have been ordered to stop any work connected to productions. This includes attending red carpets and promoting their work on social media.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is the entity on the opposing side of the strike, with major studios and streamers including Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros Discovery.
Speaking to whether there have been any productive conversations on the strike, Drescher said SAG-AFTRA hasn’t had any direct responses from the Hollywood studios.
SAG-AFTRA negotiators are demanding residuals partly based on viewership levels on streaming services but the studios aren’t willing to share the information.
In a statement, SAG-AFTRA has laid out the specifics of their requests, saying: “we need fair compensation that accounts for inflation, revenue sharing on top of residuals, protection from AI technology, and updates to our pension and health contribution caps, which haven’t been changed in decades.”
Drescher told CBS Mornings: “They complain that it’s going to shut down the business, but they don’t come to the table.”
“I think stonewalling is their preferred technique.”
“Most of my members don’t even meet the threshold to get health insurance, which is only $26,000 a year,” she said. “And in most jobs that would be considered a part-time job. So to go on strike is a major deal. It’s a big responsibility and they all wanted it in unprecedented numbers.”
“So, why would we go on strike if we were offered such an incredible deal,” she told reporters.
Hollywood movie and tv production has been brought to a halt as The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA embark on this dual strike for the first time in 63 years.
On behalf of many in the film industry who are struggling to put food on the table, many A-list celebrities have signed their names in support of SAG-AFTRA. These include Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, Joaquin Phoenix, Jamie Lee Curtis, Olivia Wilde and Ewan McGregor.