
Michelle Berger is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary: Actors have a contract and President Biden is meeting with UAW president Shawn Fain in Illinois.
The Hollywood actors’ strike ended at 12:01 Pacific Time today. It has been 118 days since the tens of thousands of actors represented by SAG-AFTRA struck in July amid contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The tentative contract between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP will be released Friday. The actors are expected to have won significant concessions in two key areas: compensation from streaming and the use of AI.
Several factors appear to have made the actors’ strike successful. The strike was wide-reaching, with the actors refusing to even promote any struck work. The actors joined Hollywood’s writers, who were on strike from May until September, effectively bringing Hollywood to a standstill. And even as the strike stretched on, the rank-and-file held strong. Thousands of actors signed an open letter last month saying “we would rather stay on strike than take a bad deal.” This is particularly remarkable because SAG-AFTRA’s membership is far from monolithic––while there are iconic movie stars among its membership, the union says that 80 percent of SAF-AFTRA members make less than $27,000 annually.
President Joe Biden is in Illinois today, where he will appear with UAW president Shawn Fain and make a speech discussing the UAW’s historic contract with the Big 3 and his administration’s economic agenda. Unlike many other major labor organizations, the UAW has not yet endorsed Biden for president, but some commentators expect that endorsement soon. Biden visited a picket line of striking UAW workers in Michigan in September, a presidential first in American History. Jason and Kevin discuss Biden’s record on labor issues in greater depth here.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
December 7
Washington Post strike, Title VII standard, diversity in employment.
December 5
Starbucks limits mobile ordering after unions fight understaffing; UAW eyes non-union automakers; House Democrats call for investigation of Los Angeles hotels
December 3
UAW calls for ceasefire, Massachusetts considers collective bargaining law for rideshare drivers
December 1
Emory Ph.D. student workers unionize; Senate fails to advance Biden’s ETA pick; and Starbucks violates labor law in Portland.
November 29
New investor network for workers' rights; Amazon workers at largest air hub file unfair labor practice charge; Czech labor unions stage protests to oppose budget cuts.
November 28
New York plaintiffs file workplace sexual assault claims before the Adult Survivors Act deadline, the NLRB dismisses claims that Tesla illegally fired workers for union activity, and voters across party lines express support for federal paid leave.