300-Plus Actors Sign Letter Urging SAG-AFTRA Leaders To “Make Clear Our Resolve” In Contract Talks: “We Are Prepared To Strike”

Erik Pedersen and Patrick Hipes
·9 min read

More than 300 actors including many big names have signed a letter to SAG-AFTRA leadership urging them to take a hard line in the negotiations for a new film and TV contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

“A strike brings incredible hardships to so many, and no one wants it,” reads the letter addressed to the SAG-AFTRA leadership and negotiating committee. “But we are prepared to strike if it comes to that. And we are concerned by the idea that SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not.”

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Among the letter’s boldface signatories are

Kevin Bacon, Quinta Brunson, Glenn Close, David Duchovny, Chelsea Handler, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lawrence, Bob Odenkirk, Mark Ruffalo, Meryl Streep, Rami Malek, Patton Oswalt, Sarah Polley, Parker Posey, Amy Schumer, Kyra Sedgwick, Chlöe Sevigny and Ben Stiller.

The guild is in what could be the final week of bargaining before the June 30 expiration of its current contract, and the letter comes days after SAG-AFTRA’s leaders told their members that negotiations have been “extremely productive” and that they “remain optimistic” that a fair deal can be reached with the AMPTP.

“This is not a moment to meet in the middle,” the letter adds, “and it’s not an exaggeration to say that the eyes of history are on all of us. We ask that you push for all the change we need and protections we deserve and make history doing it. If you are not able to get all the way there, we ask that you use the power given to you by us, the membership, and join the WGA on the picket lines. For our union and its future, this is our moment. We hope that, on our behalf, you will meet that moment and not miss it.”

Here is the full letter:

Dear SAG-AFTRA Leadership and Negotiating Committee,

Thank you for your hard work and your leadership navigating through this difficult negotiation in a truly unprecedented time. As SAG-AFTRA members, we’ve been impressed over the last few months by how our leadership outlined the unique stakes of the negotiations and the need for a realignment in our industry. We were glad to see SAG-AFTRA lead the way among the guilds in identifying AI as a threat to our livelihoods that must be addressed right now, a “game changer.” We felt as though you understood how wildly our pay and our residuals have been undermined, how long we’re being held between seasons. We’ve been filled with pride watching the union come together and deliver such an incredibly strong strike authorization vote.

But solidarity demands honesty, and we need to make clear our resolve. A strike brings incredible hardships to so many, and no one wants it. But we are prepared to strike if it comes to that. And we are concerned by the idea that SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not. We hope you’ve heard the message from us. This is an unprecedented inflection point in our industry, and what might be considered a good deal in any other years is simply not enough. We feel that our wages, our craft, our creative freedom, and the power of our union have all been undermined in the last decade. We need to reverse those trajectories. With inflation and continued growth in streaming, we need a seismic realignment of our minimum pay and new media residuals, our exclusivity carveouts, and other terms. We also think it’s absolutely vital that the deal restore dignity to the casting process by regulating how self-tapes are used. This is an enormous problem for working class actors. And especially as regards Artificial Intelligence, we do not believe that SAG-AFTRA members can afford to make halfway gains in anticipation of that more will be coming in three years, and we think it is absolutely vital that this negotiation protects not just our likenesses, but makes sure we are well compensated when any of our work is used to train AI. We want you to know that we would rather go on strike than compromise on these fundamental points, and we believe that, if we settle for a less than transformative deal, the future of our union and our craft will be undermined, and SAG-AFTRA will enter the next negotiation with drastically reduced leverage.

This is not a moment to meet in the middle, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that the eyes of history are on all of us. We ask that you push for all the change we need and protections we deserve and make history doing it. If you are not able to get all the way there, we ask that you use the power given to you by us, the membership, and join the WGA on the picket lines. For our union and its future, this is our moment. We hope that, on our behalf, you will meet that moment and not miss it.

The letter comes days after SAG-AFTRA’s leaders told members that the guild’s ongoing contract negotiations with the AMPTP have been “extremely productive” and that they “remain optimistic” a fair deal can be reached.

On Monday, SAG-AFTRA’s two leading political factions said they formed a unity slate to endorse the reelection of the guild’s president Fran Drescher and secretary-treasurer Joely Fisher taking place later this summer. Drescher had been elected president at the top of the ruling Unite for Strength ticket, while Fisher was elected on the MembershipFirst slate.

That rare show of solidarity comes on the heels of the unanimous vote of the guild’s board to recommend a strike-authorization vote, which was then approved by 98% of the membership.

SAG-AFTRA is currently entering what could be the final week of its negotiations for a new film and TV contract; the current contract expires Friday at midnight PT.

The Writers Guild of America is on Day 57 of its strike against the AMPTP over its own film and TV contract.

The full list of actors that signed the letter is below.

Chris Abbott
Amy Acker
Patrick J Adams
Lauren Adams
Paul Adelstein
Uzo Aduba
Alex Anfanger
Genevieve Angelson
Amy Aniobi
Hale Appleman
Amanda Arcuri
Fred Armisen
Kevin Bacon
Jodi Balfour
Talia Balsam
Elizabeth Banks
Matt Barats
Sara Bareilles
Ike Barinholtz
Britt Baron
Shakira Barrera
Max Barsness
Todd Bartels
Sarah Beth Bassak
Mikie Beatty
Alison Becker
Emma Bell
Troian Bellisario
Gregg Bello
Francis Benhamou
Todd Berger
Reed Birney
Gus Birney
Ephraim Birney
Bre Blair
Daniel Blake
Rowan Blanchard
Rachel Bloom
Josh Bonzie
Megan Boone
Joel Kim Booster
John Ross Bowie
Josh Bowman
Mac Brandt
Kurt Braunholer
Janicza Bravo
Kevin Brennan
Jordana Brewster
Alison Brie
Connie Britton
Jacqueline Brogan
Amanda Brooks
Sophina Brown
Quinta Brunson
Aynsley Bubbico
Rebecca Rose Bulnes
Joe Burch
Owen Burke
David Burtka
Matt Bush
River Butcher
Michelle Buteau
Megan Byrne
J smith Cameron
Neve Campbell
James Carpinello
Keith Carradine
Sam Carson
Rafael Casal
Gerardo Celasco
Wyatt Cenac
Chris Chalk
Zoe Chao
Frances Chewning
Jamie Chung
Jessica St Clair
Adelaide Clemens
Glenn Close
Jeremy Cohenour
Lauren Cook
Olivia Cooke
Sarah Cooper
Nesta Cooper
Rob Corddry
Maddie Corman
Tom Costello
Julie Craig
Michael Cram
David Cross
Ashleigh Cummings
Erin Cummings
Tim Daly
Sam Daly
Alexandra Daniels
Brianne Davis
Ariana DeBose
Brooklyn Decker
Kathy Deitch
Maiandra Delfino
David DeSantos
Torrey DeVitto
Rosemarie DeWitt
Chris Diamantopoulos
Daveed Diggs
Maria Dizzia
Kether Donohue
Chad Doreck
Fiona Dourif
Paul W. Downs
Julia Louis Dreyfuss
Minnie Driver
Drew Droege
West Duchovny
David Duchovny
Anne Dudek
Merrin Dungey
Katie Duplass
Clea DuVall
Lisa Ebersole
Grace Edwards
Billy Eichner
Hannah Einbinder
Lilah Richcreek Estrada
Bridget Everett
Keith Ewell
JJ Feild
Beanie Feldstein
Bridget Flanerv
Brad Fleischer
Caleb Foote
Amanda Foreman
Jimmy Fowlie
Dave Franco
Brendan Fraser
Jena Friedman
Nolan Gerard Funk
Betty Gabriel
Kathryn Gallagher
Peter Gallagher
Noah Galvin
Robert Gant
Mark Gantt
Beau Garrett
Spencer Garrett
Kimmy Gatewood
Drew Gehling
Brett Gelman
Brian Geraghty
Matt Gerald
Tavi Gevinson
Joe Gillette
Eliot Glazer
Ilana Glazer
Michael Godere
Joanna Going
Iddo Goldberg
Bryan Greenberg
Will Greenberg
Anne Gregory
Angela Gulner
Grace Gummer
Jenny Hagel
Josh Hamilton
Chelsea Handler
Taylor Handley
Colin Hanks
Ryan Hansen
Neil Patrick Harris
Jeremy O. Harris
Paul Walter Hauser
Maya Hawke
Pat Healy
Tim Heidecker
Kayleigh Hendricks
John Arthur Hill
Mary Holland
Josh Hopkins
Laura House
Stephen Hu
Rob Huebel
Gary Cairns II
Annie Ilonzeh
Brittany Ishibashi
Abbi Jacobson
Peter Jacobson
Nikki M James
Matthew Jeffers
Sarah Jeffery
Richard Jenkins
Max Jenkins
Max Jenkins
Avan Jogia
Rebekka Johnson
Brandon Johnson
Lyn Durrel Jones
Amin Joseph
Paget Kagy
Kevin Kane
Jocko SimsKei
Connoe Kelly-Eiding
Riley Keough
Nancy Kim
Helen Kim
Emily Kimball
Joey King
Kristina Klebe
Rich Ceraulo Ko
Anna Konkle
Lindsey Kraft
Nick Kroll
Lauren Lapkus
Ooona Laurence
Jennifer Lawrence
Greta Lee
Andrew Leeds
John Leguizamo
Téa Leoni
Sam Lerner
Dan Levy
Angela Lewis
Laura Linney
Zoe Lister-Jones
Ron Livingston
Eva Longoria
Joe Lotruglio
Jessica Lowe
Natasha Lyonne
Anthony Ma
Nancy Ma
Cornelius Macarthy
Ashley Madekwe
Archie Madekwe
Erikka Makic
Rami Malek
Jena Malone
Jake Martin
Jeanine Mason
Marlee Matlin
Matthew McCarthy
Andy McPhee
Emma Meisel
Mei Melançon
Joshuah Melnick
Chris Messina
Debra Messing
Amber Midthunder
Patina Miller
Blaise Miller
Nina Millin
Jerry Minor
Matthew Scott Montgomery
Janet Montgomery
Lamorne Morris
Brad Morris
Jennifer Morrison
Javier Muñoz
Liam Neeson
Jeffrey R. Newman
Becki Newton
Sydelle Noël
Bob Odenkirk
Rosie O’Donnell
Taryn O’Neill
Leland Orser
Patton Oswalt
Elliot Page
Peter Paige
Adam Pally
Keke Palmer
Teresa Palmer
Robert Paterno
Nasim Pedrad
Gary Perez
Ryan Perez
Busy Phillips
Amy Poehler
Sarah Polley
Parker Posey
Keith Poulson
Daniel Powell
Alyssa Preston
Mark Proksch
Alex Quijano
Zachary Quinto
Courtney Rackley
Sendhil Ramamurthy
Michael Rapport
June Diane Raphael
Drew Rausch
Emmy Raver-Lampman
Britt Rentschler
Sam Richardson
Tijuana Ricks
Genesis Rodriguez
Will Ropp
Ben Rosenfield
Emmy Rossum
Natasha Rothwell
Allen Theosky Rowe
Kristen Rozanski
Mark Ruffalo
Thomas Sadoski
Meredith Salenger
Jessica Sattelberger
Devon Sawa
Kristen Schaal
Sara Schaeffer
Tom Scharpling
Paul Scheer
Molly Schreiber
Amy Schumer
Kyra Sedgwick
Chlöe Sevigny
Frankie Shaw
Constance Shulman
Gabourey Sidibe
Robbie Silverman
Henry Simmons
Hannah Simone
Timothy Simons
Lexi Simonsen
Jenny Slate
John Slattery
Jimmy Smagula
Jahkara Smith
Jenny Soo
Marina Squerciati
Annie Starke
Riann Steele
Fisher Stevens
Daniel A Stevens
Ben Stiller
Meryl Streep
Brenda Strong
Mickey Sumner
Jeff Sumner
Jessica Szohr
JB Tadena
Amber Tamblyn
Robin Lord Taylor
Christian Telesmar
Nick Thune
Jackie Tohn
Marissa Tomei
Angela Trimbur
Jeanne Tripplehorn
Jonathan Tucker
Emily Vancamp
Mike Vogel
Lena Waithe
David Walton
Rosalie Ward
Lesley Ann Warren
Michaela Watkins
Haley Webb
Mark Webber
Steven Weber
Liza Weil
Chris Wendelken
Nick Westrate
Michelle Williams
Alex Winter
DeWanda Wise
Ellen Wong
Breeda Wool
Constance Wu
Noah Wyle
Travis York
Britney Young
Kelvin Yu
Nora Zehetner
Jenapher Zheng
Ziwe

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