On Nov. 8, 2023, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced that they finally reached a three-year contract deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), ending the 118-day strike.
SAG-AFTRA, a union made up of over 160,000 working actors, voted in favor of a strike before the negotiations with studios to renew their contract in June. After they couldn’t reach a deal with the AMPTP before their contract expired on June 30, they extended their meeting for two weeks until July 12.
Even with the extensive meetings, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP still couldn’t see eye to eye on pay, working conditions, and the usage of artificial intelligence. On July 13, the union officially voted to go on strike, which went into effect on July 14.
The actors and other SAG-AFTRA members were fighting for better pay, better working conditions, as well as contracts that include protection against artificial intelligence.
The SAG-AFTRA strike disrupted the film and television industry, shutting down the production of countless movies and TV shows in the U.S. and some abroad.
Actors on strike would also be prevented from promoting their latest movies and shows via interviews, red carpet appearances, social media and even major conventions such as San Diego Comic Con.
Earlier this year, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) declared a strike on May 2, but they eventually reached a deal with the studios on Sept. 23. During the time between July 14 and Sept. 24, it marked the first time in over sixty years since the WGA and SAG-AFTRA were on strike together.
According to the SAG-AFTRA National Board, the deal was reached after an 86% majority of the union board voted for the new contract, with 14 percent of the board voting against it.
The new contract highlights the achieving significant breakthroughs on actors’ pay and putting restrictions on the studios’ use of artificial intelligence.
Actors from the union will immediately earn a 7% wage increase to their original pay prior to the strikes. As for background actors, stand in and photo doubles will earn an 11% wage increase to their original salary.
As for A.I., film and TV producers are required to get consent from actors to scan and create their digital likenesses. They will also need to specify how they intend to use the AI form of the actors that was created. Actors are also entitled to being paid at their usual rate for the number of days they would have been to do the work being performed by a digital replica.
Even though a contract was finally reached, and members of SAG-AFTRA are no longer on strike, the deal is still pending until the union members’ votes are tallied on Dec. 5.
