SAG-AFTRA Orders Strike Authorization Vote

In anticipation of SAG-AFTRA’s upcoming TV and theatrical contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the union’s national board has unanimously agreed to recommend that its members vote to authorize a strike.

An affirmative vote does not mean a strike would necessarily happen, but it would allow the national board to call one if deemed necessary during the negotiations process.

The action follows a unanimous agreement by the TV/theatrical negotiating committee that the strike authorization would give the union maximum bargaining leverage as it enters this round of negotiations with the AMPTP.

The current SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Agreement expires at midnight on June 30. Negotiations begin June 7.

“For the first time in a very long time, our member leadership stands in solidarity at the negotiating committee and the national board levels on moving forward with a strike authorization,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “We must get all our ducks in a row should the need present itself. The prospect of a strike is not a first option but a last resort. As my dad always says, ‘Better to have and not need than to need and not have!’ Therefore, I implore eligible members to follow the leads of both the negotiating committee and the national board with an unprecedented show of solidarity and make three a charm with an emphatic ‘yes’ for a strike authorization vote!”

SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, said, “Strike authorization sends an important message during the negotiations process. A ‘yes’ vote gives the national board the power to call a strike if the AMPTP does not negotiate fairly in our upcoming bargaining. This will be a seminal negotiation that will determine the future of what it means to be a working performer. We must be ready to fight to secure a meaningful deal for our members.”