The last actors' strike in 1980 cost the economy roughly $40 million a week in lost expenditures on goods and services and resulted in layoffs among members of the industry’s guilds. This time, the strike is expected to have even greater financial implications, with the fallout potentially exceeding the $2.8 billion cost (in 2023 dollars) of the writers' strike 15 years ago. The union is seeking to establish consent and compensation terms for performers when their work is used in AI technology, among other demands.
Key takeaways:
- SAG-AFTRA, led by president Fran Drescher, has called the union’s first strike against film and television companies in 43 years, joining the ongoing strike by Hollywood writers. This marks the first simultaneous strike by the two unions since 1960.
- The strike is expected to effectively shut down the industry, with major film and TV productions expected to be immediately impacted. The financial toll from this strike may be even greater than the $2.8 billion fallout from the writers' strike 15 years ago.
- One of the key issues in the dispute is the use of AI technology in the industry. The union is seeking to establish consent and compensation terms for performers when their work is used in AI technology, while the AMPTP has offered a proposal which they claim protects performers’ digital likenesses.
- The strike comes at a time when the industry is already facing financial challenges, with major studios and streamers having been aggressively cost-cutting following the Warner Bros.-Discovery merger and a downturn in the streaming business.