This article was edited after publication. It originally quoted Crabtree-Ireland as saying “f–k you”; he said “f-you.”
As earnings season for the major studios ramps up, SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has an important message for the major studios and their shareholders.
“It is bad business and a bad idea to disrespect and say ‘f-you’ to the talent whose work is your entire source of revenue,” the union’s chief negotiator told TheWrap during Tuesday’s “Rock the City for a Fair Wage” rally in Manhattan.
Further illuminating his point was the fact that the union’s proposals “are about basic respect.”
“They’re not overreaching,” he said. “Look at them for yourself. They’re public, they’re out on the internet. Look at them and ask yourself if it were me, would I expect this as a reasonable thing that any employer should agree to? And the answer is yes.”
During his remarks at the rally, Crabtree-Ireland called out the fact that, while Netflix’s stock price dropped following its mixed second quarter results, its shares are still up about 45% year to date.
“The fact is these companies have been building new platforms that take some investment — but that investment is paying off. Netflix was the first mover in this area, and look how they’re doing now,” he explained. “So let’s none of us be fooled by the fact there is still investment going on at some of these other companies with newer platforms. They’re going to become successful and they need to share that success in a reasonable way with our members. So investors ought to tell these companies to be fair to the talent, to the creatives who make your business exist.”
Since contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke down, talks between the two parties have been stalled, Crabtree- Ireland said. SAG-AFTRA leadership previously told TheWrap that the 12-day extension between the two parties was “wasted” by the AMPTP.
In response, the organization has said that the actors’ union have “mischaracterized” negotiations and released a chart titled “What SAG-AFTRA Failed to Mention.” They argue that their counter proposals represented more than $1 billion in wage increases, pension and health contributions and residual increases, as well as protections surrounding artificial intelligence.
“Of course, they’re going to try to spin it. Just look at what the public reaction has been to the things that they said. The fact is, I was there and so were 44 members of our negotiating committee and they’ve all said and backed up what we’re saying… If there was a fair deal on the table, we would have taken it,” Crabtree-Ireland said when asked about AMPTP’s latest move. “We’re not here because we want to be on strike. We’re here because they forced us to go on strike. All they have to do is make a reasonable, fair deal with us that respects actors and treats us fairly, treats our members fairly and this thing would have gone away. That’s what we told the CEOs on the last day of negotiations. Here’s the road map, here’s all you’ve got to do to avoid a strike. They just weren’t willing.”
He touted the “tremendous resolve” displayed by both SAG-AFTRA and the WGA thus far.
“I’m not surprised by the turnout today, but I am encouraged by it. Our members have been so passionate, and this is a grassroots movement that’s being driven by our members. Ninety-eight percent of our members voted yes on a strike authorization,” he explained. “This is not some kind of elite group or anything like that. This is a groundswell of people who are saying it is not OK for these companies to treat actors unfairly, it’s not OK to try to make them earn less than they made three years ago and it’s not OK to take their images and voices like this and just abuse it. None of that stuff is ok. They’re standing up to these companies and frankly everybody around the country ought to do that, too. Stand up to these big corporations when they try to take advantage of you and they try to abuse their power.”
While it’s unclear when the two parties will return to the negotiating table, Crabtree-Ireland emphasized that the AMPTP has “an obligation to bargain with us. “
“They said it would be quite some time before they would be ready to bargain. I think that’s a really irresponsible thing for them to say because the fact is neither of these strikes are going to end without discussions and negotiations happening between the companies and the unions,” the executive director said. “And for us, we’ve said from the first day of the strike, we are ready to come back and talk with them unconditionally at any point in the interest of moving this negotiation forward. So I hope they’ll take us up on that.”
