SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher took goal on the heads of movie and TV conglomerates, calling them “pushed by greed and disrespectful” and their company tradition “loopy” in remarks Tuesday at a rally exterior New York Metropolis Corridor.

Drescher, who described himself as “a New Yorker, born and raised,” spoke forward of a New York Metropolis Council listening to of resolutions supporting putting actors and writers and demanding studios return to negotiations with their unions.

On the nineteenth day of the SAG-AFTRA strike and the 92nd of the Writers Guild strike, Drescher recalled rising up in Flushing, Queens, and dreaming of a profession in performing.

“However I by no means imagined that present enterprise that was so romanticized in previous films of the Thirties and Nineteen Forties in 2023 would really be led by folks motivated by greed and disrespect (towards) theater artists,” Drescher mentioned. Watch her speak under.

She reiterated an oft-quoted statistic that 86 p.c of SAG-AFTRA’s 160,000-plus members don’t meet the revenue threshold—$26,500 yearly—to qualify for union-paid healthcare protection.

“They’re working individuals who merely wish to pay lease and put meals on the desk,” Drescher mentioned. “My members need the identical issues for his or her children that these rich CEOs need for his or her children.

She added, “We’re not going to step in or take out our livelihood to allow them to look good for his or her shareholders,” asking aloud why the Movement Image and Tv Producers Alliance is “blocking unions.”

“Do they hope to interrupt us?” Our resolve is robust. she mentioned to cheers and applause from union leaders, metropolis council members and dozens of SAG-AFTRA members current.

Drescher concluded her remarks by saying, “AMPTP’s insane tradition of greed should cease. Benefiting from business and doing the precise factor on behalf of employees needn’t be mutually unique, however go hand in hand as we outline a brand new that means for the phrase ‘success’.”