Entertainment Tonight

Some of Hollywood's biggest stars spoke out on Monday in an attempt to encourage SAG members to vote against authorizing the Screen Actors Guild strike.

More than 130 stars including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Tom Hanks, Morgan Freeman, Sally Field, Steve Carell, Alec Baldwin and Charlize Theron sent a letter to the Screen Actors Guild arguing that a strike at the current time would cause more economic hardship in an already difficult economy, Variety says.

The stars encouraged the guild to "take the high road," and rather than a strike unite with other Hollywood guilds after the current contracts expire in three years, the trade paper writes.

"We feel very strongly that SAG members should not vote to authorize a strike at this time," the stars say in the letter. "We don't think that an authorization can be looked at as merely a bargaining tool. It must be looked at as what it is - an agreement to strike if negotiations fail."

Variety reports that the letter in opposition to the strike was sent three days after SAG announced 31 celebrities in support of authorization including, Mel Gibson, Ed Harris, and Martin Sheen.

The strike authorization vote is scheduled to be sent out to the guild's 110,000 members January 2. In order for a strike 75% of voters would have to vote in favor of authorization but the final word is in the hands of the union's national board.