Here's what actors are thinking ahead of the potential Screen Actors Guild strike
As SAG-AFTRA approaches its contract expiration, stars from Secret Invasion, Never Have I Ever and more share their thoughts with The A.V. Club
The Screen Actors Guild contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expires on June 30 at midnight Pacific time. That means on July 1—unless SAG-AFTRA seeks an extension, which is on the table, per Deadline—the actors’ union will join the Writers Guild of America on strike. The unprecedented alignment of Hollywood unions’ concerns has been described as an “inflection point” for the industry. Although the Directors’ Guild reached its own agreement, SAG-AFTRA not only authorized a strike in advance, but more than 1,000 actors have signed a letter urging its leadership to fight for the best deal possible, even if that means moving forward with a work stoppage. With the deadline creeping closer, The A.V. Club has spoken with a number of actors over the last month about their thoughts on the potential strike and why they feel the current labor movement in Hollywood is so important.
Never Have I Ever stars have health insurance concerns
At a recent Q&A with The A.V. Club, Richa Moorjani of Never Have I Ever called this moment a “critical moment in Hollywood history,” noting that “actors of color, actors with disabilities, LGBTQ+ actors” are the ones who historically have to fight for a seat at the table. “I’ve had people even in the industry, like makeup artists, or people who don’t really understand how actors are paid, ask me, ‘Why do actors have to strike? Especially if you’re on a show, you probably get paid so much!’” she told us. “What people don’t understand is that the majority of the Screen Actors Guild actors are the actors who are doing … one guest star appearance, you know, recurring characters. What I was before Never Have I Ever. And the majority of those actors don’t make enough—for the most part, do not make enough in one year to get health insurance, let alone make a decent living.”
Her co-star Poorna Jagannathan agreed that the systems in place “need to align with the reality of where we are all at.” Noting the pay disparity for writers and performers of color, she shares that “although I’ve been an actor for about 15 years, I just started [getting] health insurance in 2016, that’s it.” Like writers, many working actors go months between jobs, threatening their union health insurance (SAG-AFTRA members lose coverage if “You do not continue to meet the minimum earnings or days worked requirements during your designated base earnings period,” per the guild’s website.)