AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler to Studios: “Come to Your Senses” and “Get Back to the Table”

Liz Shuler is no stranger to strikes. The president of the AFL-CIO — the U.S.’ largest labor federation, which counts unions from SAG-AFTRA to the United Mine Workers of America to the American Federation of Teachers as members — has seen her fair share, but in at least one respect she believes that the current actors’ and writers’ work stoppages are noteworthy.

“The writers and the performers are holding the line for all of us,” Shuler told The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday. “Especially when it comes to the use of technology and artificial intelligence. Which not a lot of workers are fully read into, and know the impacts of that on their work that’s coming, and how we can use our collective bargaining to be a guardrail and a protection for working people.” The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, meanwhile, have made it a top priority in their current negotiations to codify protections against potential incursions on their work by A.I. tools — one of many factors in both guilds’ present stalemate with studios and streamers.  

Shuler had just delivered a speech to striking members of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA in front of Fox Studios in West Los Angeles, voicing that the two entertainment unions have the support of “13 million working people across this country.” At the picket — the second themed edition this year devoted to women genre writers working in fantasy and sci-fi — she was joined by California Labor Federation’s executive secretary-treasurer Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher and L.A. County Federation of Labor president Yvonne Wheeler. “We not only have genre queens here, we have labor queens,” WGA West president Meredith Stiehm joked as she addressed the assembled crowd.

In the conversation with THR following her speech, Shuler discussed the rise of female labor leaders, weighed in on whether politicians should get involved in Hollywood’s labor dispute and urged studios and streamers to “come to your senses.”

Why was it important for you to come out to the West Coast and go to this picket at Fox Studios today?

The writers and the performers are holding the line for all of us, and we have 13 million union members in 60 different unions who are all impacted by the same issues and are in the same struggle. So I wanted to be here to bring their voices and to show these unions that they’re not alone, but also to thank them because they’re holding the line for everybody, especially when it comes to the use of technology and artificial intelligence. Which not a lot of workers are fully read into and know the impacts of that on their work that’s coming, and how we can use our collective bargaining to be a guardrail and a protection for working people.

Is there anything else you want to add about how the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes currently fit into the larger labor movement in the U.S., from your point of view?

Well, it’s a strike summer. We’re seeing not only writers and actors on strike, but we’ve got a lot of workers on strike in different industries. And even though Hollywood is what people focus on, there are workers with International [Flavors and] Fragrances that have been out, bakery workers, that have been out for months. We just obviously have been walking the picket line with healthcare workers and teachers and so I think what the importance of this is the notion that people are fed up with being treated as disposable. They’re fed up with being disrespected and all they want is a little bit of dignity and some fairness, and that’s not too much to ask. So I think this is emblematic of what people are feeling all over the country, whether in a union or not, that all we want is our fair share of the pie when corporations are raking it in with billions in profits, record profits, and yet can’t find a little something extra for the people who make it happen.

Is the AFL-CIO providing any particular resources to the Writers Guild and/or SAG-AFTRA at this time and could it step in at any point, or would it want to step in at any point, if the strikes continue?  

Well, we are prepared for as long as it takes. We know a little something about strikes in the labor movement, that’s what our history has been built on, and it’s a last resort, to withhold our labor. It’s a powerful weapon and we take it very seriously. So we are providing all the support and resources we possibly can at every level because we have an AFL-CIO in Los Angeles, in California, and then the national. So we are working in alignment with each other, strategizing, leveraging all our resources together, whether it’s monetary resources or communications tools, all of those capital strategies, resources and support together.

What role, if any, do you think politicians should play in a labor standoff like this one? Where can they be helpful?

I think you’ve seen the support already. there are a number of members of Congress that have been out, certainly mayors and others who know that fairness is on the line, that they’re in the fight with workers and their struggles, but really fully appreciate the collective bargaining process. It’s a sacred space [where] workers and their employers sit across the table and hash through the tough issues and negotiate in good faith. But I think what we’re seeing is the AMPTP has walked away. They’re not putting a fair deal on the table and the unions are saying, ‘we want more, we need more.’ Especially in this environment where they’re doing so well. So I think that having the support of elected officials is essential and we’ll be continuing to see that.

Major crew unions like IATSE and the Teamsters are going to have their contracts come up next year. From your perspective in the larger labor movement, what kind of position do you think this double strike puts them in for their negotiations next year?

I can only imagine it’s putting them in a even stronger position. And we just saw the Teamsters’ tentative agreement with UPS happen because of the pressure that was built from the grassroots, from the workers preparing and galvanizing. And this strike is only laying the foundation for other unions to benefit from, this notion of member activism and grassroots engagement and the solidarity among all the unions to come out for each other’s fights. And so I can imagine that’s going to have a spillover effect with all the other unions who are headed into these seminal bargaining sessions.

You previously held a high-ranking role in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which has members working in the entertainment business. Are you hearing from members at IBEW or other unions about the financial difficulty that these work stoppages have caused?

Well, the IBEW goes on strike too. And so they’re familiar with what it takes, and we plan and we coordinate and we strategize ahead of time so people are prepared. But there’s no question that it’s having a ripple effect. Workers are suffering the consequences of these studios shutting things down and they can come back to the table any moment and put a fair deal on the table ] and solve it. But the solidarity has been tremendous, and you heard all the other unions that are in the entertainment industry standing strong with SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild.

Do you have any message for the studios and streamers as we are out here in front of Fox today?

Come to your senses. This isn’t hard. You can come to the table, listen to your workers, listen to what they need, because when you have well paid and taken care of workers, they’re more productive. They’re going to make you even more money. And that’s what’s been happening to date, that you just haven’t been sharing it the way you need to. So get back to the table.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

This was a women’s-themed picket. So I thought it was kind of interesting to listen to the struggles of women writers who have been fighting for their fair share when it comes to how they’ve gotten traction with genre writing. To see women rising up in their field has been so exciting and inspiring. And they’ve also been leading. If you notice, the picket lines are often led by women, the bargaining teams are often led by women, and the unions are now led by women. So I think it’s a moment in time to really appreciate and celebrate the new kind of leadership that you’re seeing within the labor movement.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.