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I have some bad and even disturbing news, in short the answer is simply it’s not going to happen. For anyone in the entertainment industry who is affected by the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in America, benefits are unfortunately not accessible for the majority of workers. Where does this leave the workers? It means once again, most of its people are barely holding on and surviving off of their savings. As there is no end in sight for the SAG-AFTRA strikes, this means people are running out of time with the holiday season fast approaching.
After 72 days of constant strikes across the country of America, as of 25 September, there is now a tentative agreement in place but still no imminent deal for the writers union or the actors union. SAG-AFTRA is an American labour union that represents approximately 160,000 media professionals worldwide. On 5 June of this year, nearly 65,000 members approved the strike with a 97.91% “yes” vote and officially went on strike 14 June. They followed suit shortly after WGA went on strike in early May. WGA has been on strike for 145 days, as of 25 September, nearly matching the longest strike in the union’s history (154 days in 1988). Both companies are fighting for similar demands including rise in wages, and protections for their jobs. Clearly after the announcements of delays or even cancellations of movies/shows after the strikes held out, the unions are proving their point that their jobs are necessary to run the realities of television and film.
During this time of the strike however, most if not all of its employees are currently living off of savings hoping the film and television corporations will come to their senses and relinquish what they want. Once again an entire industry that is supplied amply with freelance workers are struggling due to the fact that they do not qualify for benefits to help get them through this time. Even in the UK, freelancers are considered self-employed and therefore automatically do not qualify for any assistance from the government. If you did have a contract that stated you were hourly during the time of your employment, you’d have to prove that you are constantly looking for other work while only receiving minimal (about £75 a week) benefits. Many of the freelancers in this particular section of the industry discovered this route during the year 2020. It is doubtful that they expected to find themselves back into such a similar situation so soon.
Some people who are affected by the strikes are still paying off debts from the last time they were out of work for this long and therefore have no savings to fall back on. With both sides finally agreeing to come back to the negotiating table, it brings hope that the union members, as well as those being affected by the ongoing strikes, won’t have to keep barely making ends meet. It does mean that neither the American government, nor the UK government are going to help assist if those affected continue to struggle.
*All pictures can be found on the SAG-AFTRA and WGA social medias
Janine has always been a part of music and performing. The first show that inspired her to go into theatre was the Velveteen Rabbit which she saw as a child, and Drew works to keep that magic alive in her work. When Drew was accepted into an internship program for audio engineering at a recording studio, she jumped at the opportunity. That was at the start of 2020, and so much has happened since then, both in her career and in the world. Since then, Drew has taken several opportunities to work at recording studios, concerts, festivals, and even large theatres while spending some time on tour. Drew's favorite by far though, has been the chance to work on Broadways and West End shows, as this was a dream come true. Drew is honoured to get to share these experiences from being inside the entertainment industry.
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