Writers and actors were on the picket line in Times Square the morning of August 4, facing down a pending thunderstorm while making their voices heard.
“Union strong!” went one chant. “All day long!”
Perhaps 80 strikers were on the picket line in front of 1515 Broadway, home of Paramount. Other protests went on in Rockefeller Center, in the Flatiron District, and Hudson Yards. Connor Chase Stewart is a theater actor who said he was aiming to transition to film and TV work when the strike began. He said the vast difference between film and TV industry CEOs’ pay and that of working actors inspired him to protest. “People who have been on Netflix, who have ‘made it’ and been professional, are still living paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “And that’s just not right.”
He said most actors are not looking to be wealthy or famous, but simply want to earn a living wage. “It takes so much courage to pursue a career [in the arts] when so many people tell you to do something more rational,” he said. “We’re fighting for a right to live. We’re fighting for the right to have this as a full-time career.”
The Writers Guild of America strike began May 2. The writers want better pay, including streaming residuals they feel are more fair; more consistent staffing in writers rooms; and assurances that they won’t be replaced by artificial intelligence.
The SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike began July 14.
One Times Square protestor’s sign read, “The Write Stuff (isn’t free…).” Some motorists passing by the protestors honked their horns in support.
Even Times Square mainstay the Naked Cowboy showed up, strumming his guitar as he marched with the writers and actors. He mentioned having “multiple contracts” for his various businesses, and feels they must be updated as society evolves. “As the world of business changes, contracts have to change with them,” he told B+C.
On the picket line, Asia Hernandez, an actor who also does voiceovers, said it is her first time on the picket line, as she “finally got a day off,” she said, from her various side gigs.
“I have to stand with my brothers and sisters,” said Hernandez. “We’re moving into a future where there are a lot of things coming that we didn’t see, and there will be a lot of other things coming. There are a lot of changes going on and we gotta get our due.”
Hernandez mentioned having been a dancer on MTV, next to the protest. “1515 Broadway was my home,” she said. “It meant something for me to come here.”
The forecast called for thunderstorms, but Hernandez was not deterred. “Let it rain. Let it rain,” she said. “It’s a beautiful day and we just gotta stand strong.”
Stewart also felt foul weather would not dissuade the writers and actors. “If the rain sends us inside, then we’ll be back out,” he said. “Rain or shine, we’re gonna keep coming out. We deserve it. It’s only fair. It’s really only fair.”
