Dispatches From The Picket Line: Actors On NYC Picket Line Say Offer From A-Listers Was “Righteous And Generous”

deadline.com:

This is day 99 of the SAG-AFTRA strike. Actors in New York City nearing day 100 on strike said a polite no thank you Friday to an offer from top stars to fund their health care by lifting the cap on SAG-AFTRA dues — to the tune of more than $150 million over three years — and to rework residual payments to benefit rank-and-file union members. “It seems like not a good idea,” actor Kathleen Chalfant told Deadline during Friday’s rainy picket outside Netflix offices near Manhattan’s Union Square, in response to a proposal Thursday by A-listers to let their dues rise and, relatedly, to reverse the normal order of residual payouts so that actors at the bottom of the call sheet are paid first.

Union leaders have praised George Clooney and others for “their creativity and earnest desire to help solve the impasse.” But in a letter to members they also said the proposal “is in no way related to and would have no bearing on this present contract or even as a subject of collective bargaining.” Picketers outside of Netflix Friday included Christopher Meloni, Clark Gregg, Jeff Hiller, Ethan Herschenfeld and John Carroll Lynch.

Some, taking their cues from the union, said that they appreciate the effort by Clooney and others to help get contract talks restarted after negotiations fell apart last week, but they have concerns.

Gregg told Deadline that the Clooney group offer is “righteous and generous.” He added that he is unsure of “how it overlaps with the need to have transparency and the residuals we were promised would be made right when streaming became the norm.” “I think it is a generous offer,” added actor and musician Vardaan Arora. “I would hate for that generosity to be perceived as dividing the union.” Arora and others