SAG-AFTRA members ratify new deal with Hollywood studios

(Source: CC Vincentas Liskauskas (Unsplash))

US actors guild SAG-AFTRA has ratified its new agreement with the Hollywood studios, a month after the tentative deal was struck.

While actors have already returned to work in the States, the ratification brings a formal end to the 118-day strike between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents companies ranging from Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney to Netflix and Apple TV+.

The guild said that 78% of members voted in favour of the new three-year deal, with a turnout of around 38%.

President Fran Drescher described the deal as a “golden age for SAG-AFTRA, and our union has never been more powerful.”

Commenting alongside chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, they said: “This contract is an enormous victory for working performers, and it marks the dawning of a new era for the industry. Getting to this point was truly a collective effort.

“With the ratification of this agreement, SAG-AFTRA members will receive unprecedented wage escalation, significantly improved streaming compensation, and the first-ever crucial protections around the use of artificial intelligence technology.”

The AMPTP, meanwhile, said that “the industry and the jobs it supports will be able to return in full force” now that the deal had been ratified.

The tentative agreement was reach on 9 November, bringing an end to the strike that began on 14 July, with the chief issues including fair pay, residuals, and the use of artificial intelligence.

The action, coupled with the now-settled WGA strike, has caused extensive delays to US studio programming and cost California billions of dollars in lost production expenses.