The Union has spoken.
After Thursday’s blog post entitled “SOVAS slaps striking hotel workers in the face” I contacted SAG-AFTRA for a reaction. This reaction came on December 5th. Below is the text of a message that went out to members:
“Please be advised that the upcoming Society of Voice Arts and Sciences 10th Annual Voice Arts Awards Gala on December 10, 2023 at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA is being held at a hotel currently on the UNITE HERE Local 11 boycott list.
This means that at any moment, workers covered by the UNITE HERE Local 11 collective bargaining agreement could go on strike and put up picket lines in front of this hotel.
UNITE HERE stood with SAG-AFTRA during our fight for a fair contract and we urge you to stand by them by not attending this event if you do not have to.
If you are contractually obligated to attend this event, you should. Please note, however, that you may be in a position of having to cross a picket line to do so.
As union members in solidarity with our siblings across the labor movement, we advise all SAG-AFTRA members to look at FairHotel.org to check the status of any hotel when attending events or booking stays.”
The big question is: what will happen when SAG-AFTRA members cross the Unite Here Local 11 picket line? The hotel workers strike is not a SAG-AFTRA strike, so no member will face any consequences for doing so. In the end, SAG-AFTRA members will have to follow their conscience.
CELEBRITIES
On a different note, I don’t think celebrity-nominees and SAG-AFTRA members like Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, or presenter Colman Domingo, will show up at the Awards gala. In September, Viola Davis stepped back from the action thriller G20 over the SAG-AFTRA strike. She was quoted as saying:
“I love this movie, but I do not feel that it would be appropriate for this production to move forward during the strike. I appreciate that the producers on the project agree with this decision. JuVee Productions and I stand in solidarity with actors, SAG/AFTRA and the WGA.”
Even though SOVAS CEO Rudy Gaskins suggested he had had a Zoom meeting with Streep (which turned out to be fake news), I didn’t expect Streep to show up anyway.
But what about “ordinary” folks like the voice talent that has been nominated? What should they do?
After SAG-AFTRA’s statement it’s going to be even harder to justify attending the Voice Arts Awards gala, even for non-union talent. Hotel workers would see it as a slap in the face as it weakens their negotiations with hotel management. It would look like the attendees care more about their own party, than about all the 32,000 hotel union members who are fighting for a living wage.
THEY’RE NOT EVEN STRIKING
Now, one of my colleagues argued:
“(the hotel workers) are not on strike, there is no picket line to cross here. They don’t get to have it both ways, they can’t threaten to strike and expect people to not utilize that hotel in solidarity for their struggle, while they continue to operate as usual and collect a paycheck. Shit or get off the pot. Strike or don’t.
Until they do, there really isn’t an issue here, other than people blowing it up to be an issue. And, callous as it may be, where is it written that anyone is obliged to support every union in existence? Union member or not? What portion of gala attendees are actually part of any union anyway? Probably nowhere near 100%. Let people have their awards show. They paid (a lot) to be there.”
This person is absolutely correct. Tickets to the gala are $475 per person. How long would it take the average low-wage hotel worker to make that kind of money? But I think our colleague is missing the point. The point is that the hotel is on the boycott list and SAG-AFTRA is urging its members not to attend the event in solidarity with the hotel workers. In the end it doesn’t matter if the people at the Beverly Hilton actually go on strike, but their union reps told me it is likely they will.
Also keep in mind that it is a common union tactic to not announce every strike at every location every time to ensure hotel management doesn’t take action to reduce the impact. Remember, the Beverly Hilton told Rudy Gaskins they would do everything to “minimize disruption.” The issue of union or non-union is a moot point. The issue is doing the right thing, no matter what. The issue is supporting those who have supported the actors and writers during the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
Meanwhile, what does NAVA, the National Association of Voice Actors make of all this? Their gala is on December 6th at a hotel that’s not on the boycott list. That alone says a lot, don’t you think?
Prominent voice actor Bob Bergen said this on his public Facebook page:
“Being a union member, and a rather active one, IF I were able to attend these Voice Arts Awards, due to this hotel strike and a possible picket, I would not attend. Now, this is me speaking. I cannot speak for anyone else.”
Voice talent Rob Marley had this to say:
“This is horrible optics for SOVAS. They had an opportunity to respond correctly and jump on this before it got big, but in their zeal to look as glitzy as possible, they’re completely disregarding the low-pay employees who work at the hotel. Glamour over human dignity. Nice work folks.”
HOW SHOULD SOVAS RESPOND
So, what is the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences to do? Perhaps it could listen to Local 11. In a letter dated November 14th, the union wrote:
“We are respectfully asking that the SOVAS stand with these hotel workers by relocating, postponing or canceling this upcoming event at The Beverly Hilton.”
SOVAS, it’s your move.
Do the right thing: support the hotel workers, cancel the gala, and reimburse everyone who has bought a tainted ticket to a blacklisted hotel.
IMPORTANT UPDATE
UNITE HERE LOCAL 11 has reached a tentative agreement with the Beverly Hilton!
According to the Hollywood Reporter the union stated that the agreement provides “unprecedented wage increases,” “affordable” healthcare, language that will allow the formerly incarcerated to be hired on union jobs, new protections for immigrant workers and regulations to ensure “humane” workloads.”
The Beverly Hilton is the home of the 2023 Voice Arts Awards, and I am thrilled for SOVAS, and for all the nominees and voice actors who had been looking forward to this event. I am even more thrilled for the hotel workers. This has always been about them, and everybody deserves to at least make a living wage.
I congratulate union Unite Here Local 11 on reaching this deal, and I hope all boycotted hotels will take notice and follow suit.
PLEASE NOTE
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I’m not a SAG/AFTRA member, but I’m glad I didn’t commit to SOVAS, but I can say that how SOVAS responds to this situation will influence my thinking about joining them or attending their events.
Paul, you top the short list of people over the years who have covered these things for me. Thank you for presenting the truth plainly.
Thank you for being so kind! Let me just add that this is a blog, and blogs -by definition- represent the OPINION of the author. In my case it always is an informed and researched opinion, but I also recognize that no one is without personal bias.