Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor issued the following statement in support of striking SAG-AFTRA members
As SAG-AFTRA members join the picket lines, the Oregon AFL-CIO and Oregon’s Labor Movement affirms its unwavering support for SAG-AFTRA’s strike against the companies represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the entity that represents major studios and streamers, including Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
When multibillion-dollar corporations reap immense profits but refuse to adequately compensate the labor that brings value to those companies’ bottom lines, it creates an industry built on economic exploitation and contributes to an environment where workers are unable to obtain a sustainable livelihood or provide for their families.
SAG-AFTRA’s fight to see their labor valued is reflective of a larger movement taking place in this country. Working people everywhere are finding their wages remaining stagnant while their cost of living soars. Meanwhile, those at the very top of the corporate ladder have seen extraordinary increases in their wealth since 2020. These conditions are unjust and unsustainable and we laud both SAG-AFTRA and the greater labor movement for being an important part of the solution to the current income inequality that’s ravaging the nation.
The Oregon AFL-CIO and Oregon’s Labor Movement recognizes that SAG-AFTRA members are an important part of our community, not just for what they bring to our local economy but also for what they contribute to the development of our society’s art and culture. Their fight is our fight and we remain in solidarity with them throughout their efforts to obtain a contract that values their labor.