Latest / OneLegUpAlex Media / One Leg Up On the SAG-AFTRA Strike With Kenyatta Simpson 7-24-23

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One Leg Up On the SAG-AFTRA Strike With Kenyatta Simpson 7-24-23 · OneLegUpAlex Media

0:02
Here's your host, Alex Garrett. You know that song blinded by the Light,
0:09
by the light, while here on the Alex Garrett podcast Network, we're
0:15
going to talk about people that are blinded by time or two time. Yeah,
0:21
so there's this thing called time blindness, which I want to address real
0:25
fast. Apparently now there's a medical condition for being chronologically late. And while
0:35
I can say it's transportation things, being chronologically late should piss anybody off firstly,
0:45
Secondly two And I'm trying to be gentle here, but I don't know.
0:51
I feel like that's why someone felt compelled to go to their boss and
0:55
ask for exemptions due to time blindness, which experts say is a real thing,
1:04
but I just feel like it could also be used as an excuse.
1:07
And now, but if you're happening to get to work or something like that,
1:12
I think it's why we might go through issues, still work through those,
1:19
even mental health issues, and get to work. So I'm not really
1:26
buying the whole time blindness thing. I think to even ask for exemptions because
1:32
of that. Look, I can deal with accommodations, and of course you
1:37
need to be accommodated in any other way you can, but in the month
1:42
of Ada and the month of honoring Disabilities of all kind ADHD and other mental
1:48
disabilities and mental health issues as well. Is time blindness really a hill to
1:55
die on, especially when those who have power with chairs and those are walkers
2:01
and crudges still are out there making a living the best they can. I
2:07
don't think it's the hell to die on, and I'd want to get this
2:13
off my chest, that you know, time blindness. Maybe it'll be investigated
2:17
further, but to me, it should not be utilized as an excuse by
2:23
jen X as a reason why they didn't show up, not even fifteen minutes
2:30
late, but maybe even an hour or two hours late. That does not
2:35
make those with mental health issues that are very real. Paint it in a
2:44
good light if you will, it doesn't make them look good. We can
2:50
understand ADHD, we can understand by polar we can understand anxiety depression. But
2:59
to rope time blindness into this and be expected to be accommodated, maybe you
3:07
adapt to it. Maybe you adapt to feeling like you don't want to get
3:10
out of bed and just get out of bed. Maybe adapt to feeling like
3:15
you don't want to go any place, even though you have a time constraint
3:19
and get there and if you even after your rac against the clock, you
3:23
do it anyway because the best thing to do is show up without fail and
3:30
without some kind of excuse. But time blindness, a condition that could be
3:42
medical. Being late to a medical condition I don't know, doesn't rub me
3:50
the right way. Hey, you know those that were on time are those
3:53
on the Saga after line. And when we come back from this break,
3:57
we have one leg up going on the pi Get Lines with Kenyata Simpson,
4:03
a background actor, a former radio personality for seventeen years, has been on
4:10
radio PLJ and the like, and he joined me right after his appearance with
4:14
Joe Sibelia on the Arthur Dalla Power Hour. Listen to our conversation about why
4:19
actors, background actors and celebrities are all united in this writer's slash actors strike.
4:31
It's quite a union. It's been weeks ongoing, days ongoing, and
4:36
is there an end in sight? We find out from Kenyata Simpson. Next
4:41
on the Alex Garrett podcast Network, By the Lights Black due to the owner
4:47
in the night by the lights Which side are you boys? Which side are
4:58
Which side are you? Which side. Are you well, we are coming
5:05
to you from my dare I say workspace here at am nine seven of the
5:09
answer on the Alex Scarat podcast network because fresh off the Arthur Idallah Power Hour
5:15
fielding in Joe Sabilia, fresh off his appearance on the Idella Power Hour is
5:20
Kenyatta? Now remember your last name as well? My last name is Simpsons
5:24
like the Simpsons. But no, but I don't do not say I look
5:28
like a bart Okay and YadA Simpson. All right, So why did you
5:30
come to studio today and tell us about what's going on with the Hollywood actors
5:35
joining the writer strike. You've got a big sag After shirt yeah on you
5:40
today? Why are you reperating s After and tell us about the strike and
5:46
what you've seen and have you been down on the line supporting Well, I
5:48
have to say thank you for having me first of all, m As you
5:53
all know, it's been a kind of trying two and a half months or
5:57
actually been almost three months now that we the WJA, which is the Writers
6:00
Guild and US SAG after Well, the Writers Guild now as of today they're
6:04
they're in the eightieth day on strike US to SAG which we just became on
6:09
strike last Friday. We're now in our sixth day. We are asking for
6:14
better pay and to not be replaced with artificial intelligence or as they would say
6:17
shortly aim. It's a scary time for us because a lot of us are
6:24
out of work. But we're trying to make a cause that we deserve better
6:27
pay and like I said, to not be replaced and to make enough money
6:30
in order to get our health insurance and our pension. Now we don't turn
6:35
the pay, but being replaced by AI what developed because obviously the irishman I
6:39
think of because I use AI generator technology and whatnot. But are we seeing
6:43
that more and more that we just haven't been, you know, noticing that
6:46
that you guys are well, I mean they have been doing that. I
6:48
know that just recently, what was it the Dollar Destiny, the Indiana Jones,
6:51
which is his fifth move. I can't believe that they d H Harrison
6:56
and you know, like he looked like he did in nineteen eighty one compared
7:00
and now that he's in his eighty's eighty one and it's like, you know,
7:01
he's asia obviously, but they try to keep his face younger. But
7:05
what a artificial intelligence means is that they can use my body and my face
7:11
and scan it once or twise maybe and they can give me just a one
7:15
rate pay, so it could be anywhere from one hundred dollars to five hundred
7:20
dollars, and then I will never work again doing acting and that, and
7:24
then with very little residual. But the point is that very little. You
7:27
guys, do not want to be replaced by AI. You love going on
7:30
the set, You love the set life. Right, this is my tenth
7:32
year coming in and like I said, I've been in SAX since two at
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the beginning of twenty seventeen, and I said that every day I get to
7:40
work with my friends. I get to work with actors who I've grown up
7:43
watching, and obviously we work together in scenes, which I've been so blessed
7:46
to do, and I thank God every day I do. But it's a
7:50
very trying time that we're trying to They're trying to replace us with machines and
7:55
everything now is with computers, and you know, it's just not good.
8:00
What happened to the human labor? That's what scares me. What I mean,
8:03
how do you work and not do labor? That's just like saying used
8:05
me once and that's it. Did you work during the pandemic, because I
8:09
feel like the pandemic has escalated this whole while we don't need human people to
8:13
act anymore. Well, I mean we didn't work during the pandemic, I
8:16
said, because, like I said, after even it's still the pandemic was
8:18
going on. I was, we were out seven months, so I said,
8:22
I know the last time I worked was people didn't realize this. I
8:26
was on Sesame Street and I was on Valentine's Day of twenty twenty. That
8:28
was my last job until October first, and I did another show called His
8:33
Council. Now I think it's for Life. It's what it's called. And
8:35
I forgot that people did not work during the pandemic. So sorry for asking
8:39
that part. Yeah, did you get well paid during the pandemic? I
8:43
mean did they? Did they support you at all those seven months? Well,
8:45
I mean we worked, Like I said, the government paid us because
8:48
we were making what we could say at nine fifty seven a week, And
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I said, I was making so much good money. I finally paid off
8:54
my certain loan. I actually, you know, was able to pay off
8:58
enough bills. So like I said, I paid it a year in advance,
9:00
so if in case something would happen like this, I don't have to
9:03
worry about, Oh God, how am I gonna pay my bills? And
9:05
this and this and that. But I'm saying it's now where we're going through
9:09
is such such a trying time where we're but like I said, we're fighting
9:13
for what we believe. And there's one hundred and eighty thousand of us WGA
9:16
and SACK after combined trying to say, listen, we need the better pay.
9:22
We want to have our health insurance, we want to have our pension.
9:24
We don't want to replace use our scan, our likeness once and then
9:28
and then our acting career is over. That's horrible. Even like I said,
9:31
even with big you know A listers like Tom Cruise, Meryl Street,
9:35
Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Matthew McConaughey, you're going to use their likenesses
9:39
and their faces and then that's it. And then just say that your career
9:43
is over. And even you keep using them, maybe they'll pay him,
9:45
like say, eighty thousand dollars to do it, but that'll be it.
9:48
That'll be it, and that's not good. Yeah, friends in the Writers
9:50
Guild that I've been talking to you about this as well, or well,
9:52
I don't know anybody in the writers Guilt, but it's so funny if I've
9:56
actually been, you know, talking to a couple of people, and they're
9:58
very, very such nice, funny, talented people. And I have to
10:01
say when we were talking about salary, and I don't really like talking us
10:05
about salarly on the air, but for them to survive, in order to
10:09
get the health insurance and pension, they have to make forty thousand dollars.
10:11
They don't even make that. For us as background and stand in, we
10:16
have to make twenty six thousand. Now, sometimes you can make twenty six
10:20
thousand or over that, but sometimes you may not have that many roles.
10:24
So, like I said, you could work a full six months and may
10:28
not even work a year or maybe two years of five years, depending on
10:31
how it is. I mean, like right now where we're going through the
10:33
strike, I says, I haven't worked in almost three months now because of
10:37
it. Now, when the actors did join the writers, it sort of
10:41
shocked the system. Were you surprised? Did you see that coming down the
10:45
road or what? In a way I did, because as you all know,
10:48
this is the first time since nineteen sixty sixty three years since SAG and
10:52
the WJ had joined together in order to strike. And it was so crazy
10:56
is that our SAG president at the time was Ronald Reagan, and so funny
11:03
he became the president in nineteen eighty and oddly enough, that's the last time
11:05
when SAX striked was nineteen eighty in which he had just joined the presidency.
11:09
And it's been it's just been crazy because you know, again we're asking for
11:15
a better residuals. Like I said, we don't. We're looking for the
11:16
peace to pie in my opinion, which you get the whole pie, you
11:20
know what I mean. But like I said, living in New York or
11:22
living in California, living wherever, everything's going up because of inflation and it's
11:26
too expensive. So we says, you know, if we're working these hours,
11:28
because sometimes it's like you know, it's not like an eight, nine
11:31
to five job for me. Sometimes I'll get a you know, three o'clock
11:33
in the morning to get a five am bust to film at six am.
11:37
It like say in Rockland County, if we're doing like say a TV show,
11:39
which I've been on FBI's Most Wanted. Sometimes we'll film in Rockland County
11:43
and we'll be there till maybe about nine o'clock at night. Well, like
11:48
I said, we could do it overnights, and like I said, we
11:50
could work from twelve in the afternoon to three o'clock in the morning. But
11:52
you know that's you know, because that's how we get paid. Okay,
11:56
But like I said, if we would have took in the deal that we
11:58
had, we would they said, we would have gotten paid less than we
12:03
head in twenty twenty. I want to ask you a couple of questions about
12:07
but I want to get to the line. So you've been on the picket
12:09
line, right, You've seen what's going on. Give us some story,
12:11
shared it with us. What you've seen. Well, I mean, people
12:15
have been marching, We've had a lot of wonderful celebrities come. I know,
12:18
just on Monday at the most embarrassing story I have. On Monday,
12:22
I was with my college friend Phil and you know we were because we were
12:26
at thirty Rock doing our picketing, and this guy comes up to me and
12:30
talks to me, and I know who it was because usually when you see
12:31
these celebrities, they're always with their head, the dark glasses and the little
12:33
hask because they don't want to be recognized. And my friend looked at he
12:37
says, ken YadA, do you know what that was? I said,
12:39
I don't know. And next thing you know, it was Christian Slater and
12:43
I said, oh my god. Christians later interviewed a vampire and Billy Jean.
12:46
I was broken. Arrow was literally freaking out. And then I got
12:50
to meet him yesterday and we were met and lying at the Netflix studios an
12:52
eight eight eight Broadway, and you know, we were talking about the business,
12:56
and you know, I said, it's crazy that even he's on the
12:58
line with us. But it's like with him and with me, we're both
13:03
brothers in the union who are working paycheck to paycheck and sometimes, you know,
13:07
yes, we get a paycheck, but when we look at this paycheck,
13:11
you know, you take out the taxes and all that, and you're
13:11
like, God, this is barely enough for me to live. And that's
13:15
why we're asking for a better pay now, because if we would have had
13:18
this pay now, if we would accepted the contract that we did, we
13:22
would have made way less and what we're asking for is eleven percent for the
13:26
first year and then the other two years is four percent. In my opinion,
13:28
i'd rather than say between five and six percent, because I said,
13:31
that's more money for us. But back but when they wanted to go,
13:33
when we want to go to table with them, it was I think five
13:37
percent and then two point five to three percent, which is really nothing.
13:41
You're talking about four dollars a year, four or five dollars a year.
13:45
That's not really ann of money. No, no, And even like I
13:48
said, even if we get like I said, after eleven percent, and
13:52
wonderful, we get the money, but then after that it's like we could
13:56
do better and say, you know, maybe five or six percent, but
13:58
like I said, you know, we take the four percent, be blessed.
14:01
It's about what another eight eight nine dollars we could be blessed. But
14:05
like I said, it's a struggle being an actor, and it's a struggle
14:09
making the pay to do and we work really real hard and sadly we're not
14:11
appreciative. But that's the scary part of what AI comes in because, like
14:16
I says, why do we need one hundred and sixty thousand actors? And
14:18
like I said, we could use her sixty thousand actors, but use their
14:22
likeness. Just pay, just pay them one pay and that's it. Where
14:24
you can't go on a show, I said, I can go to a
14:26
movie and go on a show and get paid this kind of money. The
14:31
way that it works is that when you do TV shows you have to have
14:35
twenty five. Sometimes you might break it. If you have enough money,
14:37
you'll have thirty people and it's just great, maybe thirty five. If you
14:39
do a movie, you have to have eighty five people. But then,
14:43
like I says, you have the nine people. If on a TV show,
14:46
it could be as much as five hundred on a regular TV show.
14:48
If you do a movie, it could be ten thousand people. But you
14:52
have to have, by law, the twenty five on the set on TV
14:54
shows and eighty five in the movies. So it sounds almost like the kind
15:00
are trying to do away with the you know, almost break the law by
15:03
not having as many actors on set. Is that what I'm hearing here?
15:05
Well, it's pretty much is that. You know how it is, when
15:09
you're making money, why am I going to spend my one hundred billion?
15:13
And you know, I says, and then pay these people when I says
15:15
I use one hundred billion and have my house in the Caribe, you know,
15:18
you know, but that's because that's what they is all about. And
15:20
it's also the fact is that a lot of people who are doing subscriptions now
15:24
that I which we'd have talked about that earlier when he gave me the chance.
15:28
When you have like Netflix and know those things, and like I said,
15:31
you know they show the shows on Netflix. Even sometimes you'll see reruns
15:33
of maybe The Nanny with France Dresser, they may not get residuals from it.
15:39
And even if they do get residuals from that, like I said,
15:41
I tell you I talked about the forty one cent rule where you know,
15:45
get a check and it's a penny. They'll get a check and it's five
15:48
cents. Maybe they're lucky and they'll get a two hundred dollars check, which
15:50
is little, but you know, as I say, well, hey,
15:52
it's better than nothing. I mean, there was an act I think it
15:54
was an actress or an actor. I'm not sure, but I think it
15:56
was an actress who had fifty six checks. Man, my girl's gonna get
16:02
paid right right. However, when that all totals eighty seven dollars. Fifty
16:07
six checks eighty seven dollars show I can't even say the worst. I feel
16:14
like that's very measles. It's not even basically as sad. And I said,
16:18
that's what they get paid because, like I said, and when you
16:18
look at these checks, they're either a penny to as much as maybe three
16:23
dollars. And then you look at it, he said, oh, yeah,
16:26
I'm getting paid. And I says, but why so poorly? Do
16:30
you think the celebrities are joining Because also they realize the value that you guys
16:33
have to it. I mean, they're celebrities, are big guys, but
16:36
they know the on the ground guys, the background workers. You know,
16:38
all of you guys as well add value to every movie. So that's why
16:41
they, like I said, they're like us that we're working for a paint.
16:45
We're like working for a paycheck. But then you also think I think
16:48
with them again, it goes back to AI because like I said, I
16:52
can use that actor. It could be, like I said, could be
16:56
Tom Cruiscide, merrow Street, could be George Clooney, could be Matthew McConaughey,
16:59
Julie Roberts halle Berry and use their likeness. And like I said,
17:04
I can just get them one payment. Now they could make about eighty five
17:07
thousand to one hundred thousand. Who knows. I mean, I don't know
17:08
how much it would get paid. I'm sure the would get paid very nicely.
17:11
But then again, if you use my likeness, you can only do
17:15
me one pay and that's it. And I was talking about the non union
17:18
thing where you know, you do a commercial, they'll give they'll sometimes give
17:21
them person one hundred dollars or to investimation maybe two thousand dollars. That's great.
17:26
But if you like, with the union, we may get commercial,
17:30
which we rarely do. But if we want to try for a commercial,
17:33
we get the commercial. Let's say, if we get five grand, they
17:36
have to pay us twenty percents for every time they think airs residuals. However,
17:41
with the non union they only get one pay and that's it. So
17:42
it's just like how you're doing with the AI. We give you the one
17:45
pay because we want to save the money. Give them one hundred thousand dollars,
17:48
smack them on the button, say have a good life, and that's
17:49
it. And I mean for one time. Now, the other unfortunate thing
17:55
is that people, I think executives are getting a little nervous. Not many
17:57
people are going to the movies, and I feel like because of the streaming,
18:02
they're getting lazy and wanting to keep real actors. I don't know.
18:04
The streaming has changed everything, hasn't it. Yes, it has. And
18:07
I got to say, even when we're doing with the strike, and I
18:11
say, with the wa and I give them so much props for what they're
18:14
doing because they're they're they're pretty much our heroes. These people say executives,
18:18
I mean the movie studios, not you guys. I mean the movie studios.
18:22
Yeah. Yeah, But I say, it's funny, is that right
18:25
now, where as we were talking, they're in day eighty where as us,
18:30
like I said, we just started Friday, so we're in day six
18:32
now. But the fact is is that you know, we again, we
18:37
lived to from paycheck to paycheck to do what we have to do to survive.
18:41
And like I said, it's not a lot of money. I mean,
18:44
but it's the money that we get by. But sometimes we could be
18:47
twenty five dollars short of paying for that metro card to get to work.
18:51
You know what I mean that's going up now to Yeah. Yeah, And
18:53
I said, we could be five dollars short or like I said, from
18:57
getting the milk that I need for this for my house, or one hundred
19:02
dollars on me left to pay my rent. It's just it's it's getting bad.
19:06
It's so crazy how we're getting pennied. Nickeled dimed quartered. Have you
19:12
noticed any support from the late night host because I noticed that they were going
19:15
into sort of not depression, but they were getting really nervous not having a
19:19
nightly show to go to. Have you noticed support from them though, Well,
19:22
I haven't seen any of them, but I said, I'm sure you
19:25
know Jimmy Fallon has been online, you know, because he's near a base.
19:27
I'm sure that Jimmy Kimmel has been working too. He's a Brooklyn Knight,
19:30
just like me. We I mean, we have like who else is
19:34
Seth Myers and I forget the other one bull Bear. Yeah, yeah,
19:38
And I'm sure they're upset, we all are because now you don't have no
19:44
late night talk shows as No, I don't think you know you're not gonna
19:47
see him September because we're who knows that we're gonna still be marching by then
19:49
or picketing. You know, you have the other CV shows like I've been
19:52
on, which is Law and Order, all the Law and Orders, SVU,
19:56
Organized Crime, the original Blue Bloods. I mean, well, I
20:00
mean maybe I don't know about Blue Bluss because I think they can still get
20:02
new episodes right from what I'm finding out. But like I said, a
20:06
lot of a lot of Teavy shows is all about reruns. Now. What
20:08
you're seeing now is now guests. Who's gonna get the jump on it?
20:11
Reality shows? Yeah? I mean anybody mean, like you see a lot
20:15
of reality shows, Like I said, Big Brothers coming back, and lord
20:18
knows, that's all you're gonna be able to watch because everything you're gonna see
20:21
now it's just total reruns though, And who else is not getting aft?
20:26
The game shows like The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, Let's make
20:30
a deal. Family, I'm sure family few probably, but who knows if
20:33
Steve's working himself. And then you have the soap operas, the Force,
20:36
soap problems, We've got now what Bowl and Beautiful General Hospital, Days of
20:38
Our Lives and uh, we'll see the other one young and the wrestless.
20:41
You know, they're not getting affected, but like I said, because of
20:44
the network code, and of course the news is they're running. Like I
20:47
said, it's all about network code because now they can work. But for
20:49
us, it's like, what's going to happen because I said, you know,
20:53
for them to film in November or like I said, start you know,
20:57
start airing new episodes in November. We got to go back in September,
21:00
so who knows if we're going to still be doing this September first on.
21:03
So it sounds like you guys are far apart in these discussions. Yeah,
21:07
I say. Even I said when when Fran was talking friends Rusher,
21:10
we went the nanny, like I said, she's our president of SAG and
21:14
she said, you know when she gave that speech and you look at it
21:15
on YouTube, the fire speech she had, they didn't even even at least
21:21
try to talk to her. It was like they gave her two weeks because
21:25
I said, our contracts supposed they have ended on June thirtieth, so they
21:27
gave him another two weeks because I said, they wanted to promote the movies,
21:30
like I said, with Indiana, Joe's Dialard, Destiny and all that
21:33
other stuff and Barbie whatever it is. And as soon as they said,
21:37
you know, we'll give it the two weeks. As soon as the two
21:38
weeks came, who are you? It was nothing and that and that's and
21:44
that's sad because we were supposed to take the contract they were supposed to get
21:48
and we says no way, we want more money. When you see,
21:52
when you see, you know, all these companies say, all these TV
21:56
suits are complaining, oh my god, we can't meet sales quarters, we
22:00
can't meet tale. It's almost like a well, too bad. You put
22:02
yourself in this situation. Right, Well, you think about this. The
22:06
WGA, right is guild for every day that they've striked. Now, like
22:11
I said, yet today was the eightieth day. Do you know how much
22:14
money they lose a day? I'm guessing millions of dollars per day thirty million
22:18
wow, so or or if you're doing five days a strike, one hundred
22:21
and fifty millions. So they're already in the billions now, in the billions.
22:23
And I said, because they're asking you for a fair wage, and
22:29
you know, and you can't even give them that. And then I said,
22:30
even if you don't want to give eleven past at least maybe make it
22:33
nine percent or eight percent or something. But you know, I says,
22:37
with the times that are going up, with inflation, would prove food prices
22:40
and milk prices and everything. You've got to really really think. Listen,
22:44
I have a family to feed. I don't want to feed them Hamburger helper
22:47
every night. I would like to have them for having a nice little Porterhouse
22:49
cake or something. You know, maybe I'd like to go out to eat.
22:52
Maybe I want to go see a movie. But everything's so expensive now.
22:53
And they want to pay you less overwork, you underpay you. And
22:57
that's what and that's what makes me angry. It's been sixty three years since
23:02
this last happened and I wasn't even born yet and I'm only twenty five.
23:07
Well why why now? Like what is this a generational thing where you guys
23:11
are finally saying, hey, enough enough here, Yes, we are saying
23:15
enough enough because again, to work as much as we do, and we
23:18
love to work. I said, I love what I do. We're the
23:21
labor union, and it's crazy because we're not the only ones that are striking.
23:26
Look at what's going on now. The Barclay's concession, saying they're striking
23:30
as possible as of August, first ups might be be the next one striking.
23:33
I mean, there are so many strikes going on because again there is
23:37
we want safer working conditions, which is another thing that I forgot to talk
23:41
about, that we need safer working conditions, we need better pay, we
23:45
want don't want to be replaced by a machine. What is wrong with this
23:49
picture. We are labor union, like we said, like Franz said,
23:52
we are union strong. We are the movement without you. Without us,
23:56
you're nothing without us. One last thing about the line itself. Have you
24:02
found people you've never met on this line? I mean not only going with
24:06
your friends, but have you been making more connection with people at psych afters
24:10
that you've never met before during this time? Well, like I said,
24:11
we I said, I'm very happy that we've had when I've been marching,
24:15
I said, I've met I've got to meet people that I see on TV
24:18
all the time. And I said, I got to meet on Saturday Life
24:21
Tina Fey, who I've worked with when she's directed me on a couple of
24:23
shows. Fred Armison, Steph Myers, which you know I've seen him,
24:26
you know, you guys own light to enage talk show. Just the other
24:29
day we saw Horoldo Horoldo Rovero and we saw I called him to barkuns.
24:33
You know, Kevin, Kevin and Kiera, they were online with us.
24:37
And who else have I seen? I mean, we've seen so many Gina
24:40
Gershon who I've met? Like I said, when we did the film Festival
24:42
in Lincoln Center, I'm trying to figure out who else I've met? I
24:47
even met, you know who I met. It was the other day that
24:48
I was literally freaking out. And next year is going to be the forty
24:51
anniversary. Who rented the nerves? You remember Curtis Armstrong? Okay, yeah,
24:55
he played booker, say that worked broker, but as you know,
24:57
he played at And I said, Yo, you are God to me because
25:00
you just didn't give a darn you know what I'm saying. I want to
25:02
say the other word, but it was just you know, but he's marching
25:04
in line with us, And I said, we are all in this together,
25:07
because, like I said, we could be that one page check away
25:11
from being homeless. We could be that one page check away from getting an
25:14
operation that could kill us that we don't get the operations. Soon we could
25:18
die. And it's very serious. It's not even funny no more, it's
25:21
it's sad, it's scary. We are living in it, and like as
25:23
France said, we are living in an unpredestined time that should be labor friendly,
25:26
and now this is how we're getting treated and it's disgusting. Well,
25:32
I feel like the term paycheck to paycheck is varying all over the place.
25:34
So I'm glad that you are taking a stand here and union strong. I
25:42
guess I'll tell you how much stronger can you yet? Meaning how long well
25:45
guys keep going? I mean, do you feel like you're strong enough to
25:48
keep it going until you get the right, right deal exactly, because like
25:52
I said, we don't cave in and said, okay, we'll say that.
25:56
No, what we ask for is what we deserve, Coach, we
25:59
worked hard to get it. And I said, you know, it's again
26:03
a really really unprotested, precedented time for us. We want to get that
26:07
work. You know, once we get that work, we want to look
26:10
at the paycheck and says, Okay, I'm not gonna pay this bill.
26:11
I gotta pay the corner head bill, I gotta pay the light bill,
26:14
but just went up, by the way, and KNA just went up.
26:15
So and that's so funny. Yeah, because say they're going to go up
26:18
nine percent next year, and then that's what I said. This is a
26:21
very very serious time for us. Everything's going up with it, even with
26:23
the train fairs. Now you know you're going to pay five or a five
26:26
eighty round trip, but now this August twentieth. But I think again,
26:30
this is why we're asking for it, because everything's going up. We want
26:34
to survive in New York City. We don't want to be homeless, sitting
26:37
out or like saying. If it just keeps going that they want to treat
26:41
us like this, we might as well just hold it a cup and just
26:42
say, hey, I'm better off making money this way, because this is
26:45
what this is what you're paying us. But at least I know I'm bigging
26:48
for and people feel sorry for me because I said, you know this is
26:51
where I work for. Well, one last thing, I know that you'd
26:53
rather be competing against me, fellow human, for that role, not with
26:57
AI. I think that's also missed that competition to just get the role right
27:02
now. Yeah, now they're righting everybody out. It sounds like well,
27:04
I mean, I said, I love and like I said, I work
27:07
under Casting Networks and they helped me out getting wonderful, wonderful jobs, and
27:11
I've done like's. I could be a police officer one day, I could
27:12
be a drug the next day, or I could be you know, working
27:15
with FBI, playing at CSUS, and I adore doing that because it's so
27:21
much fun to do that and learn from that. But I also say that
27:23
again, we're hard workers and we deserve to be respected by us hard workers.
27:29
We deserve to be paid better as hard workers. We deserve to not
27:33
have our health and pension taken away because we didn't work enough or didn't make
27:37
the quota for how we have to get to get paid for it, because
27:38
we need to work. We need to work. We need to make that
27:41
money in order for like I said, to get my child the health insurance.
27:45
They need to get my health insurance to make sure when I have a
27:48
pension, I live comfortably when I retire. All right, A couple things
27:52
here are people that maybe even watch you on TV in the past, not
27:56
even family or friends were like outside are saying hey, we support you.
27:59
Are you see a lot of support from those I watch you guys like,
28:02
well, it's so funny. I have my shirt always sag after and I
28:04
said, even when, like I said, we have the union strong on
28:07
and they're saying we support you, good luck, blah blah blah. It
28:10
was so funny. Yesterday when I was going to go to the picket line
28:12
at aaight A Broadway, I had homeless people come up to me and says,
28:18
oh, we're for you, We're with you. And I slightly how
28:19
you know what I'm doing, but but they but you know, it makes
28:22
me so proud because they know that we're fighting for what we believe, what
28:27
we deserve, what we should have. And I said, you know,
28:30
when people are rooting for us, that means so much. I'most about to
28:33
tear it when I say that, because it's rough, but we thankfully can
28:37
say and I look at it up say it when I say ninety seventy answer,
28:40
and I says, I see the word passion because we're passionate about what
28:44
we are. And I said, what we deserve and we're going to fight
28:45
for it until we get it. And I guess, at your final message
28:48
tonight, what would be your final message on the Alex Garret Podcast Network again.
28:52
I'm proud to be sag I'm proud to be Union strong. With us
28:57
and the WGA, we're gonna make it. It's gonna be a long road,
29:02
but I know in my heart we're gonna fight the fight and we're gonna
29:06
damn well win. And let us know when you're on set next. All
29:08
right, I'd love to come by and watch you guys on set. Oh
29:11
of course, you know I've always tell you all right. Awesome. That
29:14
was Kenyana Simpson of sag After on the d Alex Skirret Podcast Network, taking
29:18
us on the front lines, the front lines of the sag After strike and
29:23
in conjunction, I guess with a w GA. And thank you Matt sam
29:27
Boland for suggesting this opportunity and Kenyana Simpson, thanks again for joining and we'll
29:34
talk to you soon here on the Alex Garrett Podcast Network