The Hollywood writers and actors have been on strike for over three months and nearly two months, respectively, and as a resolution proves elusive, Mary Trump, the niece of former President Donald Trump, called out the inequality and the lack of a level playing field.
What Happened: The studios under the umbrella of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP, are planning to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and houses, said Mary Trump, citing an anonymous source.
This way, the guilds would be cornered into accepting otherwise unacceptable terms, she said.
For the unversed, the Writers Guild Of America, or WGA, and the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, have taken up cudgels against the AMPTP, demanding higher wage raises to keep pace with inflation and protesting against the replacement of human performances by AI technology, among other things.
Mere Bread Crumbs: Agreeing to all the demands for writers and actors will impact the bottom line of the studios by only 2%, Mary Trump said. About 86% of the guild members do not currently qualify for healthcare, given they do not make the $26,000-per-year minimum norm for availing the benefit, she said.
Mary Trump also shared the list of the top ten highest-paid Hollywood executives over the last five years. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. WBD CEO David Zaslav topped the list with $498.92 million in compensation.
Among the main issues, the psychologist flagged were the impact of streaming on actors and writers and the increasing role of AI in the entertainment industry.
“This is treacherous territory because, in addition to everything else, actors are at risk of losing control over their own likenesses because studios are determined to usurp them in order to save money,” she added.
Call For Action: “Congress needs to catch up,” Mary Trump, adding that politicians should start educating themselves about the challenges posed by emerging technologies.
“We can finally see the extent to which the people responsible for creating content are getting paid the least and treated the worst while a tiny number of executives at the top are benefitting enormously off of their work,” she said.
Citing CNBC's Jennifer Lu, Mary Trump noted that from 1979 to 2021 CEO pay grew by 1,460%, adjusted for inflation, versus just 18.1% for the typical worker.
“Generally speaking, the richest 1% of people on earth own approximately half of the world's wealth. There is no universe in which this is either sane or healthy,” she said.
Mary Trump also lamented the fact that working people in America weren't rising up and standing in solidarity to demand fair wages.
“What the rich and the politicians they own have succeeded in doing since the Reagan administration, is convincing white working-class Americans that unions are the enemy of working people,” she said.
Collective action can be incredibly effective, the podcast host said, pointing to the deal between UPS and Teamsters Union in August that provided for raising the annual salary of full-time drivers to $170,000, including healthcare and other benefits.
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