SAG-AFTRA Strike: Union Workers Criticize AI, Its Threat on Employees' Careers

(Photo : Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union workers have criticized artificial intelligence and its threat on employees' careers.

SAG-AFTRA Union workers who joined the recent strike that shut down production in Hollywood are criticizing artificial intelligence and its threat on employees' careers as more and more employers are shifting work to technology.

One of the people who joined the strike was Pat Reidy, who was present on Thursday in Chicago holding a sign that showed a copy of a seven-cent residual check that he received. Above and below the image, he wrote, "Strike!!! Because this suuucks."

SAG-AFTRA Union Strikers Criticize AI

That particular check, along with another for eight cents, came from Reid's work on Max's South Side. There, he appeared in five episodes in the course of three seasons. He argued that it cost his employers more to mail the check to him than the actual cost of the check.

He added that union workers went to the negotiating table in good faith but simply ended up being forced to join the strike and endure the heat in Chicago for people to hear them out. Reid said that they have to fight every step of the way for their rights, as per the Hollywood Reporter.

Reid was among more than 1,000 members and supporters of the SAG-AFTRA Union who marched three-quarters of a mile starting from Millennium Park to Buckingham Fountain located in downtown Chicago.

It was a rally where guild leaders and representatives from several other unions, such as the Writers Guild of America, the Teamsters, the Chicago Federation of Labor, and the Chicago Teachers Union, spoke in solidarity.

Sen. Robert Peters and Rep. Marcus Evans, the chairman of labor committees in the Illinois legislature, also spoke in support of the strikers. Peters noted that in their state, they give millions of dollars to producers to make movies and TV in the state that could be used to give workers fair compensation.

Artificial intelligence has been one of the most controversial topics for tech companies this year and it has now come under the spotlight on the picket lines in the midst of Hollywood's first writer-actor strike in the last six decades, according to Yahoo Finance.

Demanding Better Work Compensation

A feature film writer, Charlie Kesslering, who is a WGA member and had previously worked on "The Late Late Show with James Corden," said that he is not afraid of the future. He noted that the worst-case scenario for him is not being replaced as a writer but rather, no longer having art made by people that other people can connect with.

Kesslering added that the guild's AI proposals focus on making the product better and helping continue the creation of television and movies for audiences worldwide. He argued that the most dire outcome would be human stories getting lost in the shuffle.

An actor and president of SAG-AFTRA, Fran Drescher, last said that if no one stands against the situation now, everyone is going to be in deep waters. She warned that every single person would later be replaced by machines and big businesses.

Her remarks come after the union's national board unanimously voted to strike against studios and streaming giants. The union joined the WGA, which has been holding a strike since May, partly due to concerns over AI, said MSNBC.