In the wake of IATSE’s historic strike authorization vote, SAG-AFTRA leaders are calling on Hollywood’s employers to hear the complaints of their workers and adopt “a more conscious capitalism.”
“The results of the IATSE strike authorization vote are a resounding call for fairness, dignity and respect on the job,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a joint statement. “IATSE frustrations with the employers must be heard and producers must adapt to a more conscious capitalism. Profit at the expense of things of true value like honor, respect and appreciation has no place in contemporary times. The 160,000 members of SAG-AFTRA stand with IATSE every step of the way.”
“Conscious capitalism” is a phrase Drescher has used before.
My new @threadedhome tht @pattirobin59 turned me on2! This comp is Conscious Capitalism, made by village women in support of community, sustainability & education. We must support business that puts people & planet over profit! https://t.co/VBTp3Uu8FL pic.twitter.com/IjL83rFtc5
— Fran Drescher (@frandrescher) September 28, 2018
IATSE members, in an overwhelming show of union solidarity, voted over 98% in favor of granting their president, Matthew Loeb, the authority to call a strike if he and AMPTP president Carol Lombardini can’t work out a fair deal. They are scheduled to resume bargaining on Tuesday for the first time in more than two months.
Many IATSE members and their supporters have cast the union’s fight as one for basic human rights: for meal breaks; reasonable rest; secure pension and health benefits; and significant raises for the lowest-paid among them, some of whom make only a few dollars an hour more than minimum wage. The union also wants a bigger share of revenue from streaming shows for its members.