Financial Crisis Aside, Picketers Won’t Abide
Despite the studios’ effort to ice out strikers on the picket lines, those out of work are finding creative ways to stay afloat.
Writers and actors on strike picket in front of Sony Studios during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike in Culver City, Calif. on Thursday. (Akemi Rico | The Corsair)
“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.”
This is the quote that has been circulating the internet, stated by an anonymous studio executive and reported by Deadline on July 11, three days before actors began their own strike. “The studios and the AMPTP believe that by October most writers will be running out of money after five months on the picket lines and no work,” reads the article.
The piece sparked outrage amongst Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) members, and those on strike viewed the quotes as a negotiation tactic from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
“It’s a threat. This is calculated. The AMPTP is trying to scare folks into folding because THEY’RE scared of unions,” tweeted Cole Harrington, a director and story artist, the day the Deadline article was published.
But now as October draws near, out-of-work union members are facing the harsh reality of losing their homes.
“He said we would all be losing our apartments come October and guess what,” stated Lilly Slaydon, a Netflix writers’ room assistant who lost her job when the strike began. “That’s exactly when I’m going to run out of the savings that I did manage to crew together through my insane luck of having a steady job in this industry for two years.”
“It’s really supervillain-level evil. It’s really upsetting,” said Abby Sciortino who was working as a production assistant in the writers’ room alongside Slaydon.
Writers Jenny (L-R), Valentina Garza, and David Tolentino wait as Olivier Alerte prepares their iced coffees while they picket outside Sony Studios during the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike in Culver City, Calif. on Thursday. Lee and Garza are dressed up for the theme "Pajama Day." (Akemi Rico | The Corsair)
The WGA began their strike on May 2, now protesting for almost 130 days, surpassing the strike of 2007-2008. Among their demands are revenue-based residuals, job protections, and regulations for the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
SAG-AFTRA followed suit two months later on July 14 after their own negotiations failed with the AMPTP.
While executives like Bob Iger state the demands are “not realistic,” both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are arguing the opposite.
“There he is, sitting in his designer clothes and just got on his private jet at the billionaire’s camp, telling us we’re unrealistic when he’s making $78,000 a day,” Fran Drescher, SAG-AFTRA president said to Variety in response to the Disney CEO’s comments.
The most recent statement made by the WGA read, “As we have repeated from the first day of our first member meeting—and on every day of this strike--our demands are fair and reasonable, and the companies can afford them.”
According to SAG-AFTRA’s site, members must earn at least $26,470 in Covered Earnings, the gross compensation paid by a contributing employer, to receive health insurance, and 87% of members do not currently qualify. The California Department of Housing and Community Development’s 2023 State Income Limits report states that a $26,000 yearly salary for a single-income household is considered “extremely low.” The report lists $68,750 as the median single-income household salary.
The WGA has not publicly stated how many members receive health insurance, but members must make $41,700 in covered union work a year to qualify.
However, writers and actors are currently bringing in zero income, despite the long hours being put in on the picket lines.
Those who are affected most by this strike are not the recognizable A-listers being photographed, but rather the dreamers like Guy Ambrouso, a SAG-Eligible actor with a side job in security. Not only has the Las Vegas-born performer seen his auditions come to a screeching halt, but his security opportunities also took a hit.
Due to SAG-AFTRA actors no longer promoting their work, the red carpet events and premieres Ambrouso usually works have been canceled. His upcoming shift for an indie film debut will be his first shift in two weeks, and he is currently waiting for his unemployment application to be accepted.
However, artists are not known for sitting around and twiddling their thumbs. Many actors have found creative ways to keep themselves afloat during these tough times.
“I am trying to re-amp my art shop that I had a couple of years ago,” Ambrouso shared. “I have, like, stickers I am working on and other little stationery accessories.”
Actor Barbara Lizzet Sanchez (left) takes a photo of fellow actor Lili Ortega (right) holding an iced coffee outside Sony Studios during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike in Culver City, Calif. on Thursday. They received the coffee for free at "Dean's Coffee," an entrepreneurial venture started by two writers looking for ways to earn money during the Writer's Guild of America strike. (Akemi Rico | The Corsair)
Another creative turned entrepreneur who has kept busy is Andrea Alba Von-Buren, who broke into her first writers’ room in July of 2022 as a writers’ assistant on the CW show “Gotham Knights”.
“When the strike happened, I was in very dire need of a job,” she said. “But as many people have been struggling with, you apply to jobs outside of the industry and we’re not hearing back.”
Alba Von-Buren feels this may be due to their resumes indicating that they are unemployed due to the strike, and businesses do not want to hire temporary workers.
While searching for opportunities, she off-handily commented that “it would be cool if someone sold iced coffee at the picket lines.” Having only drank coffee a handful of times herself, Alba Von-Buren did not expect to be that person. But with the encouragement of her roommate, she created Dean’s Coffee, which treats picketers to an iced caffeine kick while marching under the sweltering heat of the sun.
Throughout the chaos of failing negotiations, writers and actors have stuck by one another. Sciortino, who has taken up pet sitting this summer, explained the writers on her Netflix show pooled their own money and split it amongst their support staff as a bonus to keep them afloat during the coming months without work.
“It’s really generous,” Sciortino said. “I don’t know how common that is, but I think some other rooms might have done that too. We are kind of looking out for our own.”
Anyone seeking support while unemployed due to the strike can receive help through the Entertainment Community Fund, an organization that seeks “to help those affected by work stoppages or other pauses in industry work.”
Slaydon has now turned to the organization twice, the first time during the pandemic lockdown, and states it “was an amazing stopgap that was literally the difference between me surviving and not.” She encourages those in the industry, including support staff, to apply for a grant even if they believe they may not qualify.
Alba Von-Buren cited the Green Envelope Grocery Aid, an organization that provides $100 in grocery assistance to those affected by the strike, as another great resource.
The AMPTP and WGA have returned to the negotiating table, but based on statements released by both sides, there is still no end in sight. The writers rejected the studios’ new proposal, stating “the counteroffer is neither nothing, nor nearly enough.”
Despite the real possibility of losing their homes, creatives are willing to strike for as long as it takes to receive a fair deal.
“We're looking for the long haul," Drescher said in an interview with USA Today. "The gravity of a commitment like this is not lost on any of us. It's major. But we also see that we have no future and no livelihood unless we take this action, unfortunately."
