Kirsten Vangsness on the SAG-AFTRA Strike: ‘Everybody Deserves to Get Paid a Fair Amount’

After walking the picket lines for more than five months—first with the WGA when their strike started in May and then for SAG-AFTRA when they officially joined the line in July—”it’s a little Groundhog Day,” CRIMINAL MINDS star Kirsten Vangsness tells Give Me My Remote in the video below. 

With the actors reaching day 104 of their strike—and the studios and SAG-AFTRA on day two of their resumed negotiations—Vangsness echoes what so many others on the line have said: They’ll be on the picket lines until they get a fair contract.

“That’s one of the things we have on our side: actors are used to being patient and having to wait and bide our time and find something constructive to do when things seem a little out of our control,” she explains. “It seems like this is what we have control over—to assert that we’re here, that we want a fair deal. The thing I keep saying is, I know so many so many wonderfully talented actors that were working just as much 10 years ago as they’re working now; they might be working a little bit more now. But they can’t afford health insurance, and they can’t afford their rent, and they have day jobs now.” 

“The only good thing about that is, right now, as we’re doing this…[the studios] were betting on everybody freaking out and folding because they needed a job,” she continues. “Everybody already has day jobs. The people that don’t have day jobs are the upper echelon, like me, [that] make plenty of money. But…there is no middle class anymore in the acting world.”

While walking with the writers earlier in the strike, Vangsness’ best friend—who is a writer—pointed out the guilds were in similar situations that made it necessary to strike: “‘If we don’t do this, our jobs become a hobby,’” she recalls him saying. “And it’s a real craft. This is labor. And not only do you see us in film and TV and stuff like that, but like we all read books to kids at schools, and we do other volunteer-y stuff. We use our art to help other people. And we make money doing it, too, for people…it’s a weird thing where you have to beg [and say], ‘I deserve to get paid a fair amount.’ Everybody deserves to get paid a fair amount, not just the people that are the most recognizable.”

And Vangsness is aware some people are still misinformed about how rich and/or privileged everyone in the industry is. (As a reminder, according to SAG-AFTRA, only 14 percent of the members make the required $26,470 minimum to qualify for healthcare.) “[Some people,] they’re like, ‘Oh my god, shut up. You’re living the dream.’ Yeah, I am,” she acknowledges. “But there’s lots of people who are making this machine run that aren’t [privileged] because of this situation. And you have to look at all of the jobs— teachers, anybody who works in a position where there’s people with a lot of money [in charge of] giving those [workers an income]…we need to take care of each other. And this is we win, you win [situation]. You don’t have other unions striking where you’re like, ‘I recognize all those people!’ We’re the thing that will help you.” 

“So I would just say just trust us,” she continues. “No one is out here [saying] let’s get our golden rakes and pull all the money for us…all of us are all creators…We’re just trying to make it so that it’s fair for everybody.”

Outside of income inequality, the unknown of what technology or industry changes are to come between now and the next contract are of concern to Vangsness.

“Back at our last strike, nobody knew what streaming was going to do,” she says. “So everybody kind of was like, ‘Hm, okay.’ But I think that we got burned so bad in that last one, that now [with] AI [we’re like], ‘We don’t trust you.’ And look, it’s not their fault: Power only knows how to make more power. Money only knows how to make more money. So we have to assert our rights, like democracy. Democracy doesn’t just show up—you have to engage in it.”

“With this, I am concerned about AI,” she continues. “I don’t know enough about it…it’s a little thrilling to be like, ‘Ooh, they’re taking my image’—but then they don’t need you. And we all know the power of authenticity. AI starts with ‘artificial.’ We want to keep the authenticity in our work. That’s one of the things that’s important about it. So I don’t know what is the big shining object [that’s coming to change things soon]. I know what’s happening now, to people in real-time, that I want to stop happening. I think we all need it to stop and to take more control over our work conditions.”

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