Screen Actors Guild Votes To Strike After Studio Negotiations Crumble

The Screen Actors Guild — the union representing tens of thousands of Hollywood performers — voted Thursday to strike after negotiations with film and TV studios fell apart.

The guild, known as SAG-AFTRA, had agreed to extend talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) two weeks past their contract expiration date of June 30. But the two sides failed to reach an agreement in that time, even after federal mediators joined discussions, and the union’s negotiating committee unanimously recommended a strike to its national board early Thursday. The national board agreed hours later.

Fran Drescher, SAG-AFTRA president and iconic star of the ’90s sitcom “The Nanny,” called the studio’s attitudes at the bargaining table “insulting and disrespectful of our massive contributions to this industry.”