SAG-AFTRA may officially join the WGA on the picket lines. Last night, the SAG-AFTRA National Board unanimously agreed to recommend that its members vote to authorize a strike.
The decision comes ahead of the guild’s TV and theatrical contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which begin June 7. An affirmative vote from the guild’s members doesn’t necessarily mean a strike will take place; instead, it would allow the SAG-AFTRA board to call one if deemed necessary during the negotiation process.
“For the first time in a very long time, our member leadership stands in solidarity at the negotiating committee and the National Board levels on moving forward with a strike authorization,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement. “We must get all our ducks in a row should the need present itself. The prospect of a strike is not a first option, but a last resort. As my dad always says, ‘Better to have and not need than to need and not have!’”
She continued, “Therefore, I implore eligible members to follow the leads of both the negotiating committee and the National Board with an unprecedented show of solidarity and make three a charm with an emphatic ‘yes’ for a strike authorization vote!”