American actors and screenwriters went on strike on Tuesday to improve their working conditions, protesting against the "corporate greed" of Hollywood producers, during a legislative session in New York State.

According to the SIC Notícias portal, during the legislative session, which was attended by union leaders and representatives Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and the Screenwriters Guild (WGA) expressed symbolic support for the protest.

The screenwriters' strike has been going on since May and the actors' strike began in mid-July, after neither union managed to renew their collective bargaining agreements with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios of Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Bros., Discovery, NBC Universal, Paramount and Sony.

Incidentally, New York, one of the world's film and television capitals, is suffering from the shutdown, as the sector has a turnover of around 81 billion dollars, according to a 2021 study.

However, most of the 185,000 jobs it generates are very low-income.

Almost a dozen workers from both unions testified about the precariousness they face in a lucrative sector with multimillion-dollar revenues and which has been revolutionized in the last decade by streaming content and generative artificial intelligence, changes they see as threats.

The protests were led by actress Fran Drescher, national president of SAG-AFTRA, who led a demonstration and who, during the legislative session, lamented that the 'show business', so "idealized" in the history of cinema, had become a "soulless business of greed and lack of respect for the artist", pointing the finger at the AMPTP.

"The AMPTP's greed-driven corporate culture must end. Industry benefits and workers' rights need not be mutually exclusive, but can go hand in hand as we define the new meaning of success," Drescher stressed.

On the subject of screenwriters, Erica Sala, who writes for television, with a tired face after 91 days on strike, told how the changes in the sector make it increasingly difficult to "lead a middle-class life", especially when the studios "find ways to pay less".

"We're fighting for better wages, but also for the very survival of our industry," warned Erica Sala, who attacked Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav and other major producers who don't take screenwriters' demands "seriously".

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has sent letters to Hollywood producers including Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Warner Bros. encouraging them to reach agreements with unions, warning of the risks to these companies and therefore to the local economy.