Striking screenwriters and actors held rallies in Philadelphia and Chicago on Thursday as the labor dispute that has halted Hollywood spreads to more cities.
While Los Angeles and New York are the , there are dozens of mid-sized and small locals across the country representing performers and writers.
鈥淲e have the same issues,鈥 said Nikki Izanec, president of the Philadelphia SAG-AFTRA local, on her way to Thursday's rally. 鈥淟ots of people pay attention to L.A. and New York, but our issues are the same as theirs.鈥
The Philadelphia rally at Love Park drew actors Sheryl Lee Ralph and Lisa Ann Walter, stars of the hit Philly-set TV show 鈥淎bbott Elementary.鈥 Said Ralph: 鈥淓nough is enough and we demand more.鈥 Actors David Morse and Brian Anthony Wilson also attended.
Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists last week to , joining the Writers Guild of America, who walked out on May 2.
鈥淲e鈥檙e the voices of multi-trillion dollar TV theatrical streaming industry. And we all have a common goal, and that鈥檚 to make living wages in an industry that takes advantage of us,鈥 said Izanec.
In Chicago, hundreds of strikers 鈥 many wearing black SAG T-shirts 鈥 marched and chanted at Millennium Park. 鈥淲e're union/United/Never be divided." A small brass band accompanied the strikers and at one point played 鈥漈his Land Is Your Land." One sign read: 鈥淐orporate Greed Stinks.鈥 Cars honked their horns in support. Many unions were represented, including Teamsters and teachers.
The unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers 鈥 which represents studios, streamers and production companies 鈥 seem far apart, with no negotiations happening or planned.
鈥淚 feel like people would be surprised to hear that 87% of our members make under $26,000 a year, and that鈥檚 just under the amount that they need to qualify for health care. So that鈥檚 a national problem,鈥 said Izanec.
Film and TV sets dot America. Cities like Chicago with shows like 鈥淐hicago Med,鈥 鈥淐hicago PD,鈥 and 鈥淭he Chi鈥 have stopped filming until the strike is resolved. There were more than 30 major productions in Massachusetts last year. Strikers took to the street in Boston on Wednesday.
In Chicago, Courtney Rioux, a SAG-AFTRA member since 2010 who has had roles in 鈥淐hicago Med,鈥 鈥淐hicago Fire鈥 and "Chicago PD," took to the podium to rally fellow actors and writers to fight for protections from artificial intelligence and revenue from streaming.
鈥淭he whole business model has changed and our contract has not changed with it,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 billions of dollars in streaming and they鈥檙e crying broke.鈥
The rallies outside New York and Los Angeles are an important step to showing that many of the issues the actors and writers are fighting for are global ones, she said.
鈥淲e get so upset that people are saying Hollywood actors are on strike,鈥 Rioux said. 鈥淲e are not Hollywood actors. We are working class actors.鈥
鈥淚 think they鈥檙e saying Hollywood actors, because people have the feeling of like, 鈥極h, Hollywood actors are millionaires and they make so much money and they鈥檙e greedy.鈥 No, 86% of our members can鈥檛 qualify for health care.鈥
Disney CEO Bob Iger warned last week that it was not a good time for a strike, arguing that the entertainment industry's recovery from the pandemic is not complete.
Izanec replied that she resents the fact that the average WGA member makes $69,000 a year and Iger makes $74,000 a day. 鈥淢ost of us know that we鈥檙e performers and we鈥檙e middle class people. We鈥檙e trying to be middle class workers,鈥 she said.
Key issues for both unions include residual payments, which have been nearly wiped out by the switch to the streaming system, and the unpaid use of their work and likeness by artificial intelligence avatars.
The AMPTP said it has offered fair terms on those and other issues.
In Los Angeles, strikers outside Netflix studios included Sarah Silverman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Witaske and Kendrick Sampson. Kristen Schaal was seen on a picket line outside Disney studios.
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