Members of the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG-AFTRA) picketed in front of the Los Angeles offices of video gaming company Electronic Arts on Monday. Consisting of roughly 300 protesters, the demonstration signified the start of a union strike among video game actors and stunt people that officially began on Friday (Oct. 21). Click on to get six stories TheWrap gathered from the picket line:
“The [gaming] employers’ inability to shift is wrong,” Gabrielle Carteris, the current president of SAG-AFTRA, said. “A strike is not easy and not something I or the membership take lightly,” the former “Beverly Hills, 90210” star told TheWrap. “This is a global industry and we stand together,” she added, citing support from an array of other labor unions. “It’s time for us to take a strong stand.”
“It’s a lot of hard work and we deserve to be paid and treated right,” said young voice actor Haile Brown, left, who showed up on Monday to picket along with her father, John Brown. “I’m part of this amazing union and I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”
Actor-producer Ross Michael Johnson, left, and cinematographer Henry Hodge showed up to the picket line in costume. “I’m here to support everyone,” said Johnson. Said Hodge: “I have plenty of friends and colleagues in the industry who are affected by this, which is why I”m here to support today.”
Phil LaMarr, formerly of “Mad TV,” performs voice over work and motion capture for video games “Mortal Kombat,” “Injustice” and “Metal Gear.” “The first time I worked motion capture on a game my character was supposed to be hanging from a harness,” he said, describing the situation as being unsafe. “We need protections in our contracts because a lot of actors either don’t know or are afraid to assert themselves,” explained the actor, who serves on SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating committee for the actors’ video game contracts.
Eliana Alexander, right, and John Nikitin are both actors and producers. “We want equal pay,” said Alexander, who has done video game voice work. “We want better pay. We want to be supported and be acknowledged.”
The gaming companies are “going non-union,” she added. “They’re finding a cheaper way to get around everything. Our voices are the strength of those video games.”
“I’m here to support my fellow actors. We’re all one. United we stand, divided we fall,” Nikitin added.
“It should not take two years to get a collective bargaining agreement,” said Steve Dayan, principle officer of Teamsters Local 399 in Hollywood who appeared with his fellow members on the picket line in support of SAG-AFTRA. “Something is broken down and hopefully the employers will come to the table and make a fair offer to these people who breathe life into these characters. They’re the reason why gamers get engaged.”
Other unions, including the Writers Guild of America, showed up to the protest to support SAG-AFTRA.
