Fran Drescher, the president of SAG-AFTRA, said SAG-AFTRA is “In it to win it,” During an appearance on the Today show, she mentioned that actors are ready to continue the strike for the next six months.
Drescher revealed that 86% of the union’s members earn below the minimum wage needed for health benefits, which is around $27,000 per year. This highlights the urgency of their fight for fair contracts and improved working conditions during the ongoing strike.
The SAG-AFTRA president says in interview. “These are hardworking people,” “They want the same things for their children that all of those CEOs that are making large fortunes want for their children.”
Amidst the uncertainty of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes, industry professionals are looking to leaders like Fran Drescher, who heads the actors’ union representing around 160,000 performers, for insights on when the strikes might come to an end.
“Well, I don’t have a crystal ball,” Drescher said in an interview with the Today Show, when asked how long she thinks the strike will last. “We have financially prepared ourselves for the next six months. And we’re really in it to win it.”
Since mid-July, actors have been on the picket lines, seeking a fair contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). However, there is currently no resolution in sight, and the work stoppage continues.
According to Drescher, the AMPTP is proposing compensation that is lower than what actors earned in 2020 and wants the union to accept these wages until 2026. She finds this offer to be “outrageous” considering the significant pay cut it would mean for the actors.
“The business model changed, and they’re unwilling to change the contract.”
Drescher said, there is no such progress made with the AMPTP. “I don’t know whether they’re punishing us or what,” she said. “We gave them an unprecedented, 12-day extension to try and come to a meeting of the minds to avert a strike, but nothing really came out of that.”
Fran Drescher emphasized that the industry acknowledges the union’s demands as reasonable and fair, signaling widespread support for their pursuit of better working conditions and compensation during the SAG-AFTRA strike.
