In May, the Writers Guild of America went on strike. In July, SAG-AFTRA officially followed in their fellow union’s footsteps. Since the strikes began, most film and television productions have halted, and many actors have been seen on the picket lines. In fact, the picket lines have served as a reunion spot for many fan-favorite television shows. The cast of Agents of SHIELD were recently seen together during the strike, and most of the Parks and Rec cast also came together alongside Li’l Sebastian to protest the AMPTP. On Thursday, many stars from the series Glee were seen together picketing at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California.
Glee stars Kevin McHale, Darren Criss, Jenna Ushkowitz, Heather Morris, Samuel Larsen, Dot-Marie Jones, Max Adler, Becca Tobin, Jacob Artist, Vanessa Lengies, Iqbal Theba, Michael Hitchcock, and Josh Sussman all reunited on the picket lines. “We’re not all movie stars with huge lifestyles,” Darren Criss (Blaine Anderson) shared with independent journalist Christina Cavaleri (via Them). “We’re working creative people that need protection.” Many of the actors shared posts from the day on Instagram.
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“A day of Glee, reunions, picketing, friendship and solidarity. Glee brought so many people together and once again we are standing together in solidarity with our union, @sagaftra and our friends with the @wgaeast and @wgawest #unionstrong,” Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang) shared. You can view her post below:
“God these humans. We marched in solidarity’s with the @sagaftra and @wgastrikeunite @wgawest @wgaeast T-shirt by @paper_eight,” Morris added in a post. Morris, who played Brittany S. Pierce in Glee, also paid tribute to her late co-star and onscreen romantic interest, Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez). The sign quoted one of Santana’s most famous lines, “Only straight I am is straight-up broke.” You can view her photos below:
Why Is SAG-AFTRA Striking?
In a statement tied to the strike announcement, SAG-AFTRA representatives revealed that the strike is commencing after four weeks of negotiations with the AMPTP, and an existing negotiation extension from June 30th to July 12th. Back in May, SAG-AFTRA’s national board unanimously agreed to send an authorization vote to members, with and 97.91 percent of members ultimately voting in favor of authorization.
“Yesterday our union celebrated the 90th anniversary of the incorporation of Screen Actors Guild,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator, said during a press conference. “During our nearly century-long existence we’ve fought for and achieved countless gains for working actors. Today, we embark on a new important chapter in our unions history. Earlier this morning, the SAG-AFTRA national board convened following four weeks of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers in a meeting, because AMPTP remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on key issues essential to protecting the livelihoods of working actors and performers. SAG AFTRA as national board unanimously voted to issue a strike order against the studios and streamers.”
