Robert Gant Instagram – My dad was a staunch and proud Teamster. From the time I was a boy, he used to say, “If you don’t know your rights, you don’t have any.” As an individual, a worker has very limited ability to bargain on her or his own behalf. However, collectively, when we come together as a union, we can bargain for and, when necessary, fight for our rights. Corporations aren’t inherently bad. They are a huge and vital part of our economy and our collective well-being. However, corporations are not constructed to consider fairness, unless profitability requires it. They exist solely to return profit to the shareholders. Whatever it takes to do that, by whatever means. Even if it includes undervaluing and underpaying the very source of its revenue. In response, since the earliest days of our country, unions have been essential to give voice to the otherwise voiceless. The vast majority of actors in our union have second jobs to support doing what they love, their passion. The vast majority cannot reach the $27,000 a year earning requirement to qualify for health insurance and have to find another way to get it. The number of those able to qualify for health insurance has continually been dropping because of the diminishing pay structures and the inequity that streaming has created. The struggle we’re in the midst of is quite honestly for the existence of our profession. The system needs to be reconfigured to correct for the imbalances that are happening and for those that are coming in the form of AI. In reality, this is a universal struggle for all of us as a people, union or not. Please support and stand with us. At some level, it really does apply to us all. Yours in solidarity. #SAGAFTRAStrong #UnionStrong @sagaftra (Grateful to walk the picket line here with my dear friend and #QueerAsFolk cast mate @michelle_clunie.) Paramount Studios