Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep among hundreds of actors threatening to strike in letter to SAG

As the entertainment world struggles to make their voices heard, SAG-AFTRA is on the verge of striking. Though members recently voted in favor of a strike, guild President Fran Drescher gave indications that negotiations with studios were going well and seemed ready to make a deal with studios. In response, several hundred union members have united in solidarity, penning a letter to the guild and urging them to strike.

According to Rolling Stone, a letter was sent to SAG-AFTRA’s Leadership and Negotiating Committee in response to Drescher’s recent statements. The statement was signed by over three hundred working actors, including Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Fred Armisen, Quinta Brunson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and more.

In the statement, actors expressed worry that their demands might not be met. Warning the guild that “SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not”, the signatories stated that the industry is currently at an ‘inflection point’, particularly with regard to AI.

AI, which has also played a part in the Writers’ Strike, has become a hot-button issue in the film industry. Many actors are worried about their likenesses being used without their permission, and there have also been calls to regulate the use of actors’ likenesses in the training of AI models.

Just a few days remain for SAG to make a deal with Hollywood studios, streamers, and production unions. At midnight on June 30, the current SAG-AFTRA contract is set to expire. Due to Drescher’s comments, many speculate that the union is preparing to take a deal before the strike comes into effect.

Speculation has also run rampant about how a deal would affect the WGA’s own strike. A common conception places the three major industry unions – SAG-AFTRA, the Writers Guild of America, and the Directors Guild of America – with the WGA at the bottom of the pyramid, while SAG (and especially its more famous members) is in the middle, and the DGA at the top of the rung.

The DGA has already reached a deal which has been heavily criticized within its own ranks as well. Should SAG take a deal, then some worry that the Writers’ Strike will lose a bit of its bargaining power. Others, however, are more optimistic, viewing it as a sign that executives are willing to negotiate.

Until the details of the deal are public, it’s hard to say what will actually happen. The optics are definitely not great, but it is possible that the deal is favorable. Still, the fact that so many high-profile members have come out against it suggests that SAG leadership is in for a tough sell.