Shortly after summer ended, the WGA announced it had reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. The announcement came on Sept. 24, and the WGA strike officially concluded on Sept. 27. In light of the writers securing important gains and essential AI protections, many SAG-AFTRA members were hopeful the AMPTP would be more reasonable when their own negotiations resumed. Unfortunately, the AMPTP’s delays on returning to the bargaining table, decision to unexpectedly stop negotiations, and intransigence on key issues prolonged the industry shutdown.
At the Sept. 13 march and rally in Hollywood, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher called out the executives, saying, “They’re ruining it for everyone except themselves.”
“Make no mistake about it,” National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in his speech to the crowd of 4,000 attendees, “this is the AMPTP’s strike. The current industry shutdown has been caused by these companies, not SAG-AFTRA, not the WGA, and definitely not by the tens of thousands of creative professionals who are waiting eagerly every day to get back to work.
“The AMPTP were the ones who walked away from the table after allowing our contract to expire. And the AMPTP has the ability to quickly end this strike.”
The creative community made the most of the ongoing work stoppage. WGA members came out in full force to show their solidarity with striking SAG-AFTRA members throughout the following weeks, just as SAG-AFTRA members had done for them when they first called a strike. IATSE and Teamsters regularly flooded the picket lines as well, and fans ramped up their efforts with fan pickets, fan-funded food deliveries, and fan-driven social media advocacy efforts.
Latinas Acting Up could always be counted on to liven up every picket line they attended. Led by Lisa Vidal and Diana Maria Riva, the group brought flags, music, megaphones and plenty of dance moves.
Union solidarity continued to strengthen throughout the season, with multiple unions joining the ranks. “The companies didn’t know what they did when they brought us out here together,” said Warner Bros. strike captain Thomasina Gross. “And they’re just going to see that we’re so much stronger for it.”
Misogyny played an unfortunate role in the AMPTP’s manipulation tactics, as they attempted to discredit SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and sow division among the SAG-AFTRA membership.
“I don’t have to emulate masculine energy in order to be a good leader,” Drescher told delegates at the 2023 SAG-AFTRA national convention. The re-elected president went on to say in an L.A. Times interview, “I will not cave.”
Drescher’s commitment to embodying her truth rallied further public support for the strike. A popular Saturday Night Live sketch that aired prior to Halloween showed Sarah Sherman dressed as Drescher using a hilarious Kit Kat metaphor to explain to trick-or-treaters what negotiating with the studios has been like.
Though the AMPTP walked away from the table on Oct. 11, after initially resuming bargaining on Oct. 2, talks resumed once more on Oct. 24, finally concluding on Nov. 8 with the achievement of a tentative agreement.
This item was originally featured in the SAG-AFTRA fall/winter 2023 magazine issue.