SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher Joins WGA Picket Line – Variety

Angelique Jackson

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher sent a sobering message to major Hollywood studios when she joined a WGA picket line outside Paramount Pictures on Monday afternoon.

“They feel this strike is a strike for everyone in the industry,” Drescher said of the SAG-AFTRA members and WGA labor.

Drescher, who was elected president of SAG-AFTRA in September 2021, marched alongside Western Writers Guild of America President Meredith Steam in a show of solidarity, joining a coalition of a few hundred members from each union who were picketing outside Paramount starting at . 9 a.m. PST, as the second week of the WGA strike began.

“It’s important that we support our sister unions in the entertainment industry,” Drescher said. diverse, asserting that she is a labor leader, in her role as SAG-AFTRA Chair, as well as a WGA member. We must stand in solidarity with them. This is the only way a worker can effectively advocate for himself and acknowledge our needs,” Drescher said.

As evidenced by the strong turnout of SAG-AFTRA members to the WGA picket lines since the strike began on May 2, there is a real connection between the unions. Drescher described the mood of the panel’s membership as “extremely supportive” of the strike effort. SAG-AFTRA will begin its contract talks with the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance on June 7.

The WGA’s outage, Drescher said, “forces AMPTP to realize that there are needs that need to be recognized, and contributors to the entertainment industry that need to be honored.” “I hope that from now until June 7, we continue to plan systematically and strategically our negotiations. God willing, we will not reach this point. Each union has different requests and needs. And although we support each one of them, each negotiation is different.”

Drescher wasn’t very specific about what she expected her union negotiations to entail. Overall, SAG-AFTRA’s main focus, Drescher said, is to “restructure the contract to remain true to the current business model.”

(Pictured: SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and WGA West President Meredith Stehm outside Paramount Pictures)