A clip from the sitcom “The Donor” is doing the rounds on social media. It shows Fran Fine — played by current Screen Actors Guild president Fran Drescher — as her boss tells her one of her mother’s three cardinal rules: “Never, never, never cross the picket line.”
Drescher doesn’t follow that rule in real life, but he also leads a union representing 160,000 actors who went on strike on July 13.
The actors’ strike focused on profit-sharing and artificial intelligence protections. The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May. Writers say their solution stalled during the rise of streaming services. This is the first time since 1960 that two unions are on strike simultaneously.
The strikes raise a question for consumers who want to support workers: Does watching Netflix or going to the movies cross the proverbial picket line?
Right now, it appears not.
A line of striking workers in front of a workplace or employer (or in this strike, in front of major studios) usually forms a picket line. Historically, a person who supports those workers doesn’t cross that line.
“The idea that people watching Netflix or going to the movies are crossing the picket line is a stretch — after all, where are the pickets?” said James Bennett, professor of economics at George Mason University. While traditionally, a picket line should involve people picketing, “a virtual picket line is a novel concept,” he said.
While unions with workers in digital media or companies that offer online shopping have invoked the idea of a digital picket line, actors’ and writers’ unions have not called on consumers to stop watching television and movies on streaming services, or to cancel “theirs.” Barbenheimer” tickets.
It is up to individual consumers to decide whether to watch, depending on their goals.
“The question for all workers and consumers in any strike is: Which side are you on?” said Don Cornfield, professor of sociology and labor expert at Vanderbilt University. When workers strike, there are ways for consumers and the public to show their support. In some cases, people may march with workers on a picket line. Or boycott.
The boycott may cause financial pain to the company, but it sends a broader message that people care about the fair treatment of workers, Kornfield said.
“We really need to hear the union’s request to strike,” said Adam Seth Litwin, a professor of industrial labor relations at Cornell University. Seeing the content writers and actors make can prove the point that streamers and studios need shows because of the revenue they bring in, he said.
Streamers, on the other hand, may be able to weather a longer strike due to the larger inventory of content they produce. If consumers are paying their monthly fees, Netflix and other companies can “hold on for a long, long time,” Litwin said.
And if no deal is reached, unions may save the consumer boycott as a tool for later-stage negotiations, experts said.
As long as people don’t go to the movies, that could hurt theaters, many of which are struggling after the pandemic, and their workers. “At this point,” Litvin said, “it doesn’t make a lot of sense to get it out in theaters.”
Still others want to make a statement. David Escobedo, a former improv actor in Los Angeles, is studying toward a Ph.D. In England, he said he felt he had to do something to support his friends on strike and decided to cancel his Netflix membership, but the unions did not call for it.
“To be honest, I really like Netflix,” he said. “‘Black Mirror’ is one of my favorite shows of all time.”
But he wanted to send a message, especially when it would be difficult to get the attention of such big organizations. In cancelling, he specified that it was in support of the strikes. “It sends a message that there is support,” he said.
Escobedo also uses other streaming services — Disney+, which includes her young son’s favorites — and she doesn’t plan to cancel them yet.
Others are thinking about it, including Litvin, a professor of industrial labor relations. “I haven’t canceled my streaming subscriptions yet, but I’m listening,” he said, suggesting he may pursue a boycott if unions call for one.
“We want people to go to the movies,” said Janine Granda, a striking actress and member of the Screen Actors Guild. He said he was planning a double feature of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” with a group of friends this weekend.
If unions change their minds, Granda said, “you’ll hear us.”
