ATLANTA — In a show of support, nearly 4,000 actors and writers gathered Tuesday night for a "National Day of Solidarity" rally in Atlanta.
Unions SAG-AFTRA and WGA joined forces with the AFL-CIO and its affiliates from across the nation and across industries for the movement, SAG-AFTRA said in a statement.
Hundreds of members filled Teamsters Local 728 Union Hall in Atlanta. There were a number of speakers including Liz Shuler, who is the president of AFL-CIO, the democratic federation of 60 national and international unions that represent 12.5 million working people. Shuler is the first woman leader of America's labor movement.
During several moments of her speech, members jumped to their feet, cheering and holding signs in support of the strike. At the end of her speech, Shuler and the crowd chanted, "We will win."
More than 11,000 writers who are represented by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) walked off the job at the beginning of May. Then the 160,000 members of SAG-AFTRA went on strike in mid-July.
This week, WGA was back at the table working on negotiations. Members of Atlanta SAG-AFTRA said they hope their leaders can return to the bargaining table soon.
"What I see is SAG and WGA putting their foot down for all of us," Jennifer Bennett, who is a make-up artist said. "The contracts that make my job a great job have not kept up with the current technologies today."
Mike Pniewski, an actor, said the industry is different - and contracts need to keep up.
"Streaming changed everything," he said. "The fight rages on. We still have a ways to go before we can I think get a contract that we can all vote on."
Pniewski said he believes the biggest hang-up is that these companies are trying to "run a 21st-century business on a 20th-century contract."