Socialist Actor Ed Asner Fought for Labor
Ed Asner was an immensely talented actor. He was also an uncompromising union militant who fought for lower-paid actors and against Ronald Reagan’s murderous interventions in Central America.
Ed Asner and Dennis Weaver carry picket signs as part of a nationwide strike of SAG-AFTRA members. (Getty Images)
As tributes pour in for legendary actor Ed Asner, who died on August 29 at the age of ninety-one, many are rightly pointing to his lifelong dedication to left activism. Best known for portraying lovable curmudgeons like Lou Grant and Carl Fredrickson, Asner was also an outspoken opponent of US intervention in Central America during the 1980s, when he served as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
Though Asner said at the time that his public solidarity with revolutionary leftist movements in El Salvador and Nicaragua was separate from his official duties as SAG president, his trade unionism and principled politics were intertwined. He was a unionist who always pushed the labor movement to fight for the rights of all workers, in the United States and around the world.
A Natural Union Leader
Asner decided to run for SAG’s presidency in 1981, aiming to strengthen the union. The previous year, television and movie actors had staged a ninety-four-day strike to demand a higher share of earnings from sales in the nascent cable and video markets. On the picket lines, Asner emerged as a natural leader and spokesperson for the union.
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