Striking actors plan to picket General Motors facilities around the country on Sept. 13, including in Edina, Minn., to protest GM's role in their 19-week-old strike against ad agencies.

GM is the primary action target of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Some 135,000 SAG and AFTRA members, including 1,200 in Minnesota, have been on strike since May 1 over advertising industry attempts to roll back the payments actors receive when commercials are telecast. Negotiations resume in New York City Sept. 13.

GM is being targeted for several reasons, says Colleen Aho, executive director of the Twin Cities local of SAG/AFTRA, especially because it has shot a number of scab commercials. GM, which spent $2.6 billion in advertising in 1999, has also refused to sign an interim agreement with the unions.

Informational picketing began at selected GM plants in Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Oregon three weeks ago, Aho says. Teamsters have been respecting the picket lines, which is hampering GM's ability to get vehicles and parts in and out of those plants. 'Production is definitely being affected,' she says.

Strike support

Supporters can join Twin Cities SAG/AFTRA members in informational picketing at the General Motors parts operations center, 7600 Metro Blvd., Edina, from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. Sept. 13.

This article appears in the Sept. 13 issue of The Union Advocate newspaper. Used by permission. The Union Advocate is the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org