After tense negotiations for about a month with major Hollywood studios, the SAG-AFTRA strike has commenced.
The deadline to have the union’s demands men were July 12. Once the deadline was reached and no progress was made, the union’s negotiating committee recommended a vote by its national board to call a strike.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher appeared at a press conference July 13, where the strike was officially announced.
“The eyes of the world and, particularly, the eyes of labor are upon us,” Drescher said. “What happens to us is important. What’s happening to us is happening across all fields of labor. When employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors who make the machine run, we have a problem.”
With the WGA strike and the SAG-AFTRA strike, Hollywood is facing an indefinite and inevitable shutdown until further notice. WBLS will be following the story for updates.