Specifically, the union was seeking a form of profit sharing wherein they would receive a percentage of the revenue made from home media releases.

[6] In particular, the unions wanted a profit sharing plan for home video releases, including pay television, videocassettes, and videodiscs.

[3][8] At the time, the current practices were to pay actors a one-time salary for participation in a project with no future profit sharing for home video releases.

[3] However, SAG proposed a profit sharing model wherein actors would receive 12 percent of the gross revenues for projects made explicitly for home video.

[3] In addition, SAG was pushing for actors to receive payments for films that had been sold to television networks or cable channels that have been shown more than 12 times in a month.

During this period, guilds representing writers, directors, and actors were increasingly vocal about their dissatisfaction with compensation models, particularly as new technologies like cable television and home video began reshaping the entertainment landscape.

[13] This strike marked a critical moment for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), as both organizations grappled with the challenges of adapting their contracts to reflect the realities of modern media distribution.

[14] These tensions reflected a continuation of disputes dating back to earlier technological shifts, such as the rise of network television, which had also prompted calls for equitable profit-sharing arrangements.

In the first week of striking, The Christian Science Monitor reported that the action had "shut down most movie and TV productions across the United States".

[3] At midnight on July 31, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), which had similarly been negotiating with the film industry over pay issues regarding music used in home media releases, joined SAG and AFTRA in striking against the AMPTP, with AFM President Victor Fuentealba saying, "There is a long-standing, obvious and illogical inequity whereby musicians receive no reuse payment when TV films on which they have worked are rerun on TV, while producers make such payments to actors, directors and writers".

[16] By early August, Billboard reported that the strike was costing the American film and television industry approximately $40 million per week.

[17] On August 27, SAG and AFTRA members from the unions' New York City branches held a rally outside of the Gulf & Western Building in support of the strikers.

One of the primary motivations behind the 1980 actor's strike was the dispute over residual payments for the newly emerging cable television and home video markets.

These formats were gaining popularity, but existing contracts did not include provisions for actors to receive a share of revenues from these media.

[13] The 1980 SAG-AFTRA (SAG and AFTRA were still separate entities in 1980 (the unions formally merged in 2012) but they frequently joined forces in negotiations on the most lucrative film and TV contracts.

The lengthy strike spurred debate among union members over the effectiveness of leadership and negotiation strategies, with some advocating a tougher stance against the studios.

[13] It highlights that the union's leadership faced the challenge of balancing diverse member perspectives in a rapidly changing media landscape.

[14] These internal discussions underscored the complexities within SAG-AFTRA, as it sought to unify its membership while confronting technological shifts that threatened traditional compensation models.

The strike led to the creation of new residuals structures specifically for cable television and home video, ensuring actors received a share of revenues from these formats.

This breakthrough laid the foundation for future negotiations over residuals in home media, marking a significant shift in how emerging technologies impacted compensation.

[38] During the strike, actor Ed Asner (a SAG member who was at the time famous for his role as the titular character on the TV series Lou Grant) served as a spokesperson for the strikers by participating in news conferences and other events.

[20] According to historian Kate Fortmueller, the strike "underscored the many shared interests between SAG and AFTRA and demonstrated the effectiveness of joint bargaining".