MPTF Appeals for Aid as Hollywood Strikes Hit Behind-the-Scenes Crew Hard

The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) has urgently appealed for donations to assist the behind-the-scenes workforce affected by the ongoing strike by Writer's Guild and SAG-AFTRA.Non-striking industry labor employees have been referred to as "forgotten casualties" by MPTF President & CEO Bob Beitcher. A significant number of them, Beitcher warns, risk losing their homes, cars, and their capacity to cover utility or medical expenses due to the ongoing strike.

In a public plea to the entertainment community, Beitcher emphasized the catastrophic and far-reaching effect these strikes are having on the non-striking industry workforce, with below-the-line crew members enduring the most severe impact.

The MPTF has already disbursed close to $1 million in financial aid to industry workers since the onset of the Writer's Guild strike on May 2 and the subsequent SAG-AFTRA strike since July 14. Moreover, the number of aid requests made to the MPTF in the first seven months of 2023 has surged by 600% compared to the same time last year. The MPTF therefore steps in by offering $1,500 grants to qualifying industry members to help them cover their expenses.

Donations can be made here: www.mptf.com/donate.

Throughout the past week, the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have been engaging in dialogues for a new agreement that could pave the way towards resolving the writers' strike. However, SAG-AFTRA are yet to be invited back to the negotiation table by the companies.

Below-the-line crew members, who constitute 81% of recent requests for financial assistance, have further accounted for 92% of those who have actually received financial aid from the MPTF over the past 30 days.

The complete text of Beitcher’s open letter can be found here.

Warmly,
Bob Beitcher, MPTF President and CEO

---

Brace yourselves folks, for it seems the Hollywood plot thickens and becomes more dramatic off-stage than on. With the current strike situation, it's not just the popcorn that's popping, it's an entire industry boiling over.

Across Tinseltown, all eyes are fixated on the behind-the-scenes drama that's unraveling. The strike led by the Writer's Guild and SAG-AFTRA has sent shockwaves through the industry, creating an electric atmosphere that even the late Alfred Hitchcock would have admired. And while all of this has its own theatrical charm, we can't ignore a crucial sector of our industry that, until now, has played unsung helpless 'extras' to this ongoing saga - the below-the-line crew.

I mean, aren't writers and performers the heart of our industry? Of course they are, no argument there. But the below-the-line crew? They're the industry's backbone. They're the unsung heroes, the hard workers behind the glamour and the flashbulbs. They're the crew setting up the set under glaring spotlight, making sure the star performer shines just right.

Now, they, who have provided the industry its backbone, find themselves in a vertebrae-rattling situation, thanks to our beloved and dramatic strike situation. So, let's not conveniently forget them just because they're not front and center. The crises encountered by these unassuming heroes should not be lost in the footlights.

So, let's flip the script here. It's time that they take center stage, while we humbly lend them our supporting roles. After all, the show must go on. Or in this case, the donations must flow in.

For over 100 years, MPTF's guiding principle has been to "take care of our own." The question now is whether we can expand our understanding of "our own." This might just be the twist that our real-life Hollywood drama needs, the unexpected act of generosity to those behind the curtain, supporting those who make it possible for our stars to shine.

Because in the end, isn't that what Hollywood is all about? The glitz, the glamour, and the caring?