In the message sent to union leadership and its negotiating committee, the A-lister coalition — also including Lena Waithe, Laura Linney, Sarah Polley, Quinta Brunson and more — said that “a strike brings incredible hardships to so many, and no one wants it. But we are prepared to strike if it comes to that.” Calling 2023 an “unprecedented inflection point in our industry,” the group said, “what might be considered good in any other years is simply not enough.”

The letter, which made the rounds Tuesday, aired concerns that “SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not.” The group added, “We feel that our wages, our craft, our creative freedom, and the power of our union have all been undermined in the last decade. We need to reverse those trajectories.”

This cautionary message came just days after union president Fran Drescher and national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland announced to the union’s 160,000 members that talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) had been “productive” so far. The union and the AMPTP, which bargains on behalf of entertainment companies, are currently racing against the clock to make a deal as the June 30 expiration for the union’s TV/theatrical contracts nears.

The signatories specifically called out their interest in instituting a “seismic realignment” of minimum pay rates, streaming residuals and exclusivity provisions. The letter called for a transformation to self-taped auditions practices and major regulation of artificial intelligence, making sure that the deal “protects not just our likenesses, but makes sure we are well compensated when any of our work is used to train AI.” The union cited all of those points specifically, with the exception of exclusivity (though short TV seasons and long hiatuses were cited), as priorities for this round of negotiations in communication with members in May.

But the point of the letter was clear: We will back a strike in order to land a major deal. Concluded the letter, “This is not a moment to meet in the middle, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that the eyes of history are on all of us. We ask that you push for all the changes we need and the protections we deserve and make history doing it. If you are not able to get all the way there, we ask that you use the power given to you by us, the membership, and join the WGA on the picket lines.”

Prior to SAG-AFTRA negotiations beginning June 7, 98 percent of voters authorized a potential strike, giving their dealmakers a key bargaining chip in its abbreviated 2023 talks with studios and streamers. (The authorization allows union leaders to call a strike if they deem one necessary in negotiations.) This letter from prominent union members and bankable stars may give SAG-AFTRA negotiators another one, showing that major talent will back a strike.