Chicago SAG-AFTRA members walk in solidarity with Hollywood actors on strike
CHICAGO (CBS) – SAG-AFTRA's ongoing labor dispute took center stage with a walk and rally in support of the actors in Chicago on Thursday.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot was at Grant Park to learn more about what the striking actors want.
About 120 people gathered in front of Buckingham Fountain on Thursday with one goal: to make their voices heard when it comes to what they call fair pay.
With chants of "Chicago is a union town!" members of SAG-AFTRA joined forces at the afternoon rally. Members of other unions came to support their fight.
Many of the actors at the rally said they are in the middle to lower class when it comes to their wages, and that is what the strike is all about. They added that the residual structure for streaming services isn't good enough for actors. Without a firm residual structure, it's hard to make a living.
They're concerned about health insurance because the majority of actors aren't making enough money to receive it. CBS 2 spoke to two longtime actors in Chicago.
"We should be able to go home and be secure with our healthcare and take care of our families," said Gio Johnson, a television and film actor. "We should be able to enjoy what we do without worrying about going in working and then still having to work a regular job. A lot of your series regulars are working on set every day and then working as a busser or a waiter during the day."
Mary Ernster, a television, film and theater actor, added, "Right now, they're proposing a background actor would get their picture taken the first day of shooting, get one day of pay and then the producer would use that image the remainder of the shooting and there would be no more money for this particular background actor."
In response to the rally held in Chicago, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said in a statement that the deal SAG-AFTRA walked away from was worth more than $1 billion in wage increases, health contributions and residual increases over three years.
Paramount Pictures, one of the studios involved in the negotiations, and CBS News and Stations are both part of Paramount Global. Also, some CBS News and Stations staff are SAG-AFTRA or Writers Guild members; though, their contracts are not affected by the strikes.