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Date: 9/19/2023
NORTHAMPTON — The New England chapter of Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is moving the fight for better wages and protection against AI technology into Western Massachusetts.
Members of the union are conducting a rally in Northampton at Pulaski Park on Sept. 21 at 4:30 p.m. to continue their fight for a fairer contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the coalition of Hollywood studios and streamers that negotiates with labor unions.
In an interview with Reminder Publishing, local actor and set medic Ellyana Stanton said that the New England chapter of SAG-AFTRA has so far rallied in certain Massachusetts areas, including Salem and Boston. There are also plans to hit Vermont and New Hampshire in the near future.
“We hope to hit every state in the region,” she said.
SAG-AFTRA, an American labor union that represents approximately 160,000 media professionals, officially went on strike against the studios and streamers represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers back in July.
With that decision, SAG-AFTRA joined the Writers Guild of America for the first joint strike in 63 years. Both unions are asking for a fair contract, fair wages and protections against artificial intelligence.
With AI in particular, actors have expressed concern about the technology being used to replicate their image for the future without any compensation.
“I think that when it comes to entertainment and that of the act of performance, that AI cannot replicate or emanate that of the human emotion,” Stanton said in an interview with Reminder Publishing. “I really think that as actors, we go through rigorous training and methodical trainings, countless trainings to really focus on the character we’re given and bring that character to life. And we do that by being vulnerable and changing that of what we might be outside of that role so that when someone sees this character, they can relate. And I don’t think AI should take that away.”
Stanton said that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has attempted to scan background actors, pay them half a day’s rate, and then use their image for eternity without further compensation or consideration for what that actor may think down the road when they see that same image being used time and time again.
“That’s one of my strongest points that I think needs to be addressed and we won’t budge on,” Stanton said.
For years, Stanton said she has constantly been working in the industry in all facets. She started as a background actor before landing her first role in 2008 for a film that was partially shot in Northampton.
“It’s kind of iconic for us to be doing this rally in Northampton,” said Stanton, who now currently works as a full-time set medic on television, commercials and film.
Aside from AI, Stanton said that SAG-AFTRA is also not budging on its demands for greater residuals, which are payments made over the long term to actors and other theatrical workers when a TV show or movie is rerun or aired after its original release.
According to Stanton, streaming services like Netflix are buying certain movies or TV shows from cable networks and then showing them again without actors getting paid their residuals. Meanwhile, a place like Netflix profits a tremendous amount off of new viewings.
“This industry has really been flipped upside down, and because of that, we need to reevaluate contracts. And with these streaming platforms, they need to be paying the actors properly,” Stanton said.
An increase in wages is also important because Stanton said the majority of people working in this industry are working- and middle-class people, and not part of the 1% of famous Hollywood actors people typically think about.
“This is not your typical nine-to-five job,” Stanton said. “Most of us that work in it work a minimum of 14 to sometimes 16 hours, and then travel time on top of that It’s time for them to readdress the pay scale and what it costs to really work in this industry.”
Because of the strike, only commercial work and educational videos can be worked on in Massachusetts right now. The lack of productions is not only affecting the industry but the local spaces where things are filmed, too.
“We contribute a great amount also locally, anywhere we film,” Stanton said. “And that’s regardless of local here to Western Mass., or Boston or the Worcesters of the world. So, the community also is affected when we come to a standstill of production.”
Reminder Publishing will have more on the strike and the situation around it in next week’s edition, including coverage of the strike itself.