Posts tagged residuals
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.
As Musicians Start Talks With Studios, Hollywood Labor Leaders Lend Support In Picket
January 22, 2024 // The program - which featured music performed by AFM brass musicians and speeches from labor leaders including Teamsters Local 399 secretary-treasurer Lindsay Dougherty, Writers Guild of America West vice president Michele Mulroney and L.A. County Federation of Labor president Yvonne Wheeler - took place hours before the AFM was scheduled to begin negotiations over new Basic Theatrical Motion Picture and Basic Television Motion Picture contracts with the AMPTP in an office just steps away.
Costumer waits for work to pick up post-union strikes
January 1, 2024 // NY1 spoke to Quanci in May, when the writers strike began and her work was impacted. Both the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, which began striking in July, were fighting for protections around better pay and residuals, as well as regulated use of artificial intelligence. Now, in this time of flux, she says she and her husband, who works as a camera operator, have had to take on side jobs. “For me, that means taking on a part-time job as a sales associate at a local boutique, which has been a great structure builder for me,” she said. She doesn't know how long the side jobs will be needed before she can get back to her profession in earnest, but says she continues to do what she has to to make ends meet. She hopes her industry picks up again in the new year.
The Actors Strike Is Over, Ending Hollywood’s Long Limbo
November 9, 2023 //
Fran Drescher Says George Clooney, Et. Al Proposal To Lift SAG-AFTRA Dues Cap Wouldn’t Be Legal
October 20, 2023 // Drescher outlined why the proposal wouldn’t work. “We are a federally regulated labor union and the only contributions that can go into our pension and health funds must be from the employer. So what we are fighting for in terms of benefits has to remain in this contract.”
‘It’s not as glamorous as you think’: Local actors weigh in on impact of SAG-AFTRA strike
September 1, 2023 // For the last month, the Jameses have been striking with SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, to which they’ve belonged since 1997. Without a resolution to the union’s ongoing labor dispute, Gilda and Chris’s usual lineup of acting work just doesn’t exist. Come this fall, Gilda and Chris plan to work a number of odd jobs, including at the polls during election season and at Spooky World, a Halloween-themed attraction park in Litchfield, N.H., where costumed actors try to scare patrons. Chris shuddered at the thought. The gig — which he calls “stage in your face” — pays $10 an hour and is “the toughest acting I’ve ever done.” It would be their third season there.
Do Other Real Housewives Want to Unionize With Bethenny Frankel?
August 1, 2023 // Frankel has since shared a video outlining proposed terms, and suggested that until those terms are met reality TV stars like the Kardashians should stand down from filming and show up to support less successful participants. Frankel suggested that essential workers, including nurses and teachers, could be inspired to create their own models because of her call to action. “Change takes courage,” Frankel posted on her social media, referencing how the call to unionize has potentially affected her business. “I’ve alienated this industry & burned bridges with the entire network and streaming community in one fell swoop. This is not for the faint of heart but it’s for the greater good.”
‘It feels like it’s strike summer’: US unions flex muscles across industries
July 31, 2023 // “In the wake of the Patco strike, companies saw strikes as opportunities to weaken unions or even break them. That’s not the case today. Today there’s no fear that calling a strike will result in disaster,” said Lichtenstein. “Today there’s a sense that unions are on the offensive,” Lichtenstein continued. “Take the actors. They say they don’t want just a good contract. They want a transformative contract.”
Actors and writers on strike rally in Philadelphia and Chicago as union action spreads
July 24, 2023 // While Los Angeles and New York are the epicenters of strike actions, there are dozens of mid-sized and small locals across the country representing performers and writers. “We have the same issues,” said Nikki Izanec, president of the Philadelphia SAG-AFTRA local, on her way to Thursday’s rally. “Lots of people pay attention to L.A. and New York, but our issues are the same as theirs.”
Actors and writers unions are fighting technological change. Expect change to win.
July 24, 2023 // Other issues relating to technology involve establishing standards for use of AI, which holds out the possibility that Hollywood may someday do away with actors altogether. The actors and writers can negotiate for better pay and more residuals (that’s likely what ultimately happens here) but the automation and efficiency being promoted by streamlining, digital, and AI are here for good. Show business was long assumed to be resistant to the type of automation that cost factory worker jobs. Machines cannot do what actors and writers can do. The unions are realizing that may no longer be the case.