Zachary Quinto recently took to Instagram to make public a personal email he sent to SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher in which he gave her his unwavering support should the union not accept the AMPTP’s current “best and final” offer. The SAG-AFTRA strike will continue if the offer is rejected, so Quinto wanted to reassure Drescher that he stands behind her and to tell her that she shouldn’t back down and acquiesce to studio pressure.
“Fran. Let me start off by saying how much I respect you and how deeply grateful I am for your tireless efforts on behalf of all of our membership,” Quinto’s email reads. “I hope we get to meet someday so I can express these sentiments to you in person. You are in an impossibly difficult position right now — and you are bearing up with grace and dignity and power and I am so impressed by how you have handled yourself — and this negotiation — every step of the way.”
Quinto made the email public on the 115th day of the SAG-AFTRA strike, as the union’s negotiating committee assessed the studios’ “last, best and final” offer. The AMPTP issued its final offer on Saturday, Nov. 4, with the union saying it needed to take some time to respond. SAG-AFTRA said on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 5, after Quinto’s post went live, that it needed more time to respond.
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“Obviously we are at a crucial moment,” Quinto’s email reads. “The AMPTP is trying to capitalize on fatigue and harness pressure from the industry at large (agencies and studios especially) to break our resolve and have you and your incredible negotiating committee accept whatever it is they’ve thrown at us and say thank you. Their decision to use ‘last best and final’ language in their most recent counter-proposal tips their hand and shows that they are relying on intimidation and not fairness to bring this strike to an end. But that is not how we will prevail for our membership.”
“If you do not feel that what they are proposing satisfies your belief in what our membership fairly deserves — then please know that YOUR MEMBERSHIP STANDS BEHIND YOU!!! We will picket, we will march and we will hold strong with you until we receive everything for which we are fighting and everything which we deserve,” Quinto continues. “We did not come this far to sputter over the finish line, and my sense is that you know that deeply and want to hold out for what is really fair instead of what they tell us is fair. You are a remarkable leader and should feel confident in your ability and in your wisdom to know how much is at stake in this fight. DO NOT BACK DOWN!! WE HAVE YOUR BACK!! SAG-AFTRA STRONG AS LONG AS IT TAKES!!!!”
In a Nov. 5 email to members, SAG-AFTRA union leaders said they had spent all day discussing the proposal internally and would continue to do so on Nov. 6.
“The TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee analyzed and thoroughly discussed the AMPTP’s counter proposal all day and well into the night and will continue our deliberations on Monday,” the union said. “We will keep you updated.”
The strike is now in its 116th day. Read Quinto’s email in the post below.
