Thousands of Actors Tell SAG-AFTRA Leaders They'd 'Rather Stay on Strike Than Take a Bad Deal'

According to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, a group of big names in Hollywood -- including Sarah Paulson, Pedro Pascal, Christian Slater, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Demi Moore -- sent an open public letter to the SAG-AFTRA Negotiating Committee, declaring their commitment to the strike and determination to negotiate a new and fair contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

"Back in June, before we went on strike, a large group of members signed an open letter telling our leaders that we would rather go on strike than take a bad deal. Now, more than 100 days into our strike, that is still true," the group began. "As hard as this is, we would rather stay on strike than take a bad deal."

"We have not come all this way to cave now," the letter added. "We have not gone without work, without pay, and walked picket lines for months just to give up on everything we've been fighting for. We cannot and will not accept a contract that fails to address the vital and existential problems that we all need fixed."

Other stars who were among the reported 3,600 signatures were Sandra Oh, Chelsea Handler, John Hamm, Mark Ruffalo, Cynthia Nixon, Sandra Oh, Daveed Diggs, Kal Penn, Jason Alexander, Leslie Odom, Jr., Christine Baranski, Rosanna Arquette, Kristin Chenoweth, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jonathan Groff, Kate Walsh, and more.

Negotiations between the union and AMPTP restarted this week after talks came to a halt earlier this month.

Deadline reported on Thursday that SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP are set to meet at the negotiating table again on Friday.

The new letter from the "Members in Solitary" comes a little over a week after another group of A-list talent, including George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, and Tyler Perry, proposed a deal to union leadership to help end the strike. In the deal, Hollywood's highest earners would pay more in annual dues, a total of $150 million over three years, and proposed an amendment to the current residual structure, making it so those at the bottom of the call sheet would receive residual pay first.

Read the letter in full, below:

To Our SAG-AFTRA Negotiating Committee:

Back in June, before we went on strike, a large group of members signed an open letter telling our leaders that we would rather go on strike than take a bad deal.

Now, more than 100 days into our strike, that is still true. As hard as this is, we would rather stay on strike than take a bad deal.

We have not come all this way to cave now. We have not gone without work, without pay, and walked picket lines for months just to give up on everything we’ve been fighting for. We cannot and will not accept a contract that fails to address the vital and existential problems that we all need fixed.

In any union, there will always be a minority who are not willing to make temporary sacrifices for the greater good. But we, the majority who voted overwhelmingly to authorize this strike, are still standing in solidarity, ready to strike as long as it takes and to endure whatever we must in order to win a deal that is worthy of our collective sacrifice. We know that our union leaders are doing everything in their power to achieve that goal as they negotiate in good faith with the companies to arrive at a new contract that will protect us and our fellow performers, now and for generations to come.

Everything we have as a union – every minimum payment, health and pension benefit, residual, royalty, and workplace protection – it has all been won with the power of our members; the power of our solidarity; the power of standing together as one to demand what is right, what is fair, and what we deserve. You have our trust, our support, and our power behind you now.

One day longer. One day stronger. For as long as it takes.

In Solidarity,