And, I heard the networks used it as a broad axe to clean house, and to cancel a lot of contracts with production companies of existing weak, and future shows.
Read this "old" article on the situation Gulp! Force Majeure Letters In The Mail as an example.
If you don't know Nikki Finke, she was on Drudge's radio show frequently, commenting on whatever event or scandal was breaking at the time.
If the studio decides that the strike is a force majeure sufficient to suspend an actor without pay, would that also entitle the actor to regard the it as a force majeure sufficient to justify quitting?
I would think that the fairest policy for both the producers and the crews would be to have the producers pay the crew part of their salary and put part in escrow. If production resumes, any crew who come back are paid full salary (in addition to the partial salary they already received). Any crew who leave forfeit the money in escrow. If production is canceled, the crew receive the money in escrow.