This is the first simultaneous strike by both writers and actors since 1960, when they won improvements in health insurance, pension plans and residual payments.

“Residuals are additional compensation paid to performers when a production is shown beyond the original use covered by the initial compensation,” SAG-AFTRA explains on its web site. They are a key issue in the current strike as actors and writers have seen their residual income fall in the midst of rampant inflation. It should be no surprise that the vote of SAG-AFTRA members was 98% in favor of authorizing a strike, which began with the unanimous agreement of the union’s negotiating team and executive board.