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Chicago fire actors9/1/2023 We’re trying to be middle class workers,” she said. “Most of us know that we’re performers and we’re middle class people. Izanec replied that she resents the fact that the average WGA member makes $69,000 a year and Iger makes $74,000 a day. “I think they’re saying Hollywood actors, because people have the feeling of like, ‘Oh, Hollywood actors are millionaires and they make so much money and they’re greedy.’ No, 86% of our members can’t qualify for health care.”ĭisney CEO Bob Iger warned last week that it was not a good time for a strike, arguing that the entertainment industry's recovery from the pandemic is not complete. “We get so upset that people are saying Hollywood actors are on strike,” Rioux said. The rallies outside New York and Los Angeles are an important step to showing that many of the issues the actors and writers are fighting for are global ones, she said. “It’s billions of dollars in streaming and they’re crying broke.” “The whole business model has changed and our contract has not changed with it,” she said. In Chicago, Courtney Rioux, a SAG-AFTRA member since 2010 who has had roles in “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire” and "Chicago PD," took to the podium to rally fellow actors and writers to fight for protections from artificial intelligence and revenue from streaming. Strikers took to the street in Boston on Wednesday. There were more than 30 major productions in Massachusetts last year. Cities like Chicago with shows like “Chicago Med,” “Chicago PD,” and “The Chi” have stopped filming until the strike is resolved. So that’s a national problem,” said Izanec.įilm and TV sets dot America. “I feel like people would be surprised to hear that 87% of our members make under $26,000 a year, and that’s just under the amount that they need to qualify for health care. The unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers - which represents studios, streamers and production companies - seem far apart, with no negotiations happening or planned. Many unions were represented, including Teamsters and teachers. “We're union/United/Never be divided." A small brass band accompanied the strikers and at one point played ”This Land Is Your Land." One sign read: “Corporate Greed Stinks.” Cars honked their horns in support. In Chicago, hundreds of strikers - many wearing black SAG T-shirts - marched and chanted at Millennium Park. And we all have a common goal, and that’s to make living wages in an industry that takes advantage of us,” said Izanec. “We’re the voices of multi-trillion dollar TV theatrical streaming industry. Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted unanimously last week to start striking, joining the Writers Guild of America, who walked out on May 2. The Philadelphia rally at Love Park drew actors Sheryl Lee Ralph and Lisa Ann Walter, stars of the hit Philly-set TV show “Abbott Elementary.” Said Ralph: “Enough is enough and we demand more.” Actors David Morse and Brian Anthony Wilson also attended. and New York, but our issues are the same as theirs.” “We have the same issues,” said Nikki Izanec, president of the Philadelphia SAG-AFTRA local, on her way to Thursday's rally. While Los Angeles and New York are the epicenters of strike actions, there are dozens of mid-sized and small locals across the country representing performers and writers. Striking screenwriters and actors held rallies in Philadelphia and Chicago on Thursday as the labor dispute that has halted Hollywood spreads to more cities.
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