Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the national executive director of SAG-AFTRA and chief negotiator for its collective bargaining agreement, was front and center today alongside SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher as the 160,000-member guild went on strike alongside the Writers Guild, grinding Hollywood to a dual-strike standstill for the first time since 1960. After a truly historic day, Crabtree-Ireland jumped on a Zoom with me to discuss how the guild ended up here, its forthcoming plans, and what the studio C.E.O.s had to say about specific proposals. This conversation is edited for length and clarity.
Matthew Belloni: Fran Drescher was very strong today, I want her to come and yell at my kid when he’s not listening. And you’ve got a lot of solidarity among members and with the Writers Guild. What’s your plan to maintain that solidarity in week two, week 10, week 20?
