Posts tagged actors
SAG-AFTRA Confronts a Fran-less Future
August 21, 2025 // But now, with another tough contract negotiation on the horizon, SAG-AFTRA is going to have to push forward without its erstwhile leader from Queens. This time around, Drescher has decided against running for president. In her place, another celebrity, Lord of the Rings and Rudy star Sean Astin, and a rank-and-file performer, New England Local board member Chuck Slavin, are battling it out for the job. The stakes are high, given that the candidates face a darker and more foreboding landscape than the one that even Drescher confronted when she entered office in 2021 during the pandemic.
SAG-AFTRA Strike Continues: Union Sounds Alarm on AI Exploitation
March 17, 2025 // One key concern is that companies could use past recordings to generate AI performances without consent. Actors also fear losing control over their digital likenesses and demand fair pay across multiple projects. Without stricter regulations, performers risk being replaced by AI entirely. The industry's proposal includes wage increases and AI usage terms, but SAG-AFTRA argues they don't go far enough. If accepted as is, the deal could allow studios to replicate an actor's voice indefinitely – without further payment. Worse still, companies may not even be required to inform performers when their AI-generated voice is being used. This could lead to a future where human performances are sidelined, making traditional acting careers unsustainable.
Sesame Workshop Announces Major Layoffs
March 7, 2025 // Just a few months after Max said it would stop distributing episodes of Sesame Street, Sesame Workshop announced a round of major layoffs. In a letter to staff on Wednesday, March 5, president and CEO Sherrie Rollins Westin announced that Sesame Workshop will "downsize significantly," calling the cuts "necessary to ensure that the Workshop is poised to continue to deliver on its mission for years to come."
Fearing AI will take their jobs, California workers plan a long battle against tech
January 19, 2025 // More than 200 trade union members and technologists gathered in Sacramento this week at a first-of-its-kind conference to discuss how AI and other tech threatens workers and to strategize for upcoming fights and possible strikes. The Making Tech Work for Workers event was convened by University of California labor centers, unions, and worker advocates and attracted people representing dock workers, home care workers, teachers, nurses, actors, state office workers, and many other occupations.
Actors’ Equity Association halts future development contracts in wake of stalled negotiations
June 21, 2024 // Actors’ Equity Association, the labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theater, has followed through on a notice it had given to cease issuing contracts for work on its Development Agreement, effective immediately.
California’s AB5 Law Threatens Film and TV Workers Who Use Loan Outs
May 28, 2024 // Loan-out corporations already pay W-2 wages to their owners. The California Employment Development Department's decision to not recognize loan-outs for payroll purposes means studios would have to pay these corporations directly. Due to the logistical challenges this presents, studios are likely to reject using loan-outs altogether. This could severely disrupt the entertainment industry and needs immediate resolution. And the other giant thing is, other states will not have this law. So why would Hollywood workers stay and have businesses in Southern California if they'd be paying more taxes to live in a more expensive place? Especially if work then moves out of state as well.
UAW eyes more wins in South after historic union vote at VW plant
April 22, 2024 // Unions in other industries are already moving ahead with organizing campaigns in the South and trying to learn from the UAW's playbook.
Labor Union Strike Activity Increased 280% in 2023
March 20, 2024 // Crucially, the BLS data do not capture all strike activity because BLS only includes strikes involving 1,000 or more workers lasting at least one full shift. For example, a six-week strike involving 750 Temple University graduate student workers was not captured in the 2023 data, because it did not meet the BLS size limitations.
Post Hollywood labor strike, industry members say they are unable to find work
March 19, 2024 // But regular production is far from back. Not-for-profit FilmLA says shoot permits are down by about 10% and shoot days are down by about 12% from this time last year. After a viral post on LinkedIn by producer and writer Patrick Caligiuri detailing his struggles, many industry workers came forward with similar tales of struggling to find jobs.