Voting on Hollywood actors’ contracts may be close amid criticism over parts of the deal
A new three-year labor agreement between Hollywood actors and film and TV studios could become official within days, but not without outspoken criticism that has raised expectations of an imminent vote to ratify it.
Members of SAG-AFTRA, which represents more than 150,000 film and television artists, voted on the tentative deal over the past few weeks, and voting is scheduled to end on Tuesday.
The 129-page agreement was announced in full just after Thanksgiving — the culmination of a historic 118-day strike that brought Hollywood to a standstill earlier this year, crippling production of everything from blockbuster films to network series and live-action shows .
The Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents Hollywood screenwriters, overwhelmingly ratified its agreement in October after a 148-day strike. The Directors Guild of America resoundingly approved its contract in June without any strikes.
The other two unions have made similar demands as SAG-AFTRA, including stricter rules limiting the use of artificial intelligence in media production, higher base compensation and deeper cuts to broadcast profits. Until this year, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA had not held simultaneous strikes since 1960.
The National Council of Actors Guild, a group of more than 70 people, voted on the deal on November 10, with more than 86% approval. But a handful of critics on the board criticized her publicly.
SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, said Saturday that “there is no better alternative than moving forward with this agreement.”
“Is it perfect? No. But it is groundbreaking, and it is a deal that achieves what our members want to achieve through very significant increases in the economy, more than the last three negotiations combined and something that can be built upon using artificial intelligence.” Ireland said. “We will be back at it in two and a half years.”
In a statement after the vote, the board said the package, “worth more than $1 billion in new wage and benefits plan funding, is a historic achievement for the union.”
“The deal provides meaningful protections around the use of artificial intelligence, including informed consent and compensation for the creation and use of digital replicas of our members, living and deceased, whether created on set or licensed for use,” she said.
But as details of the initial deal emerged, the hashtag emerged #SAGAFTRAvoteNO It began making its way onto social media, with some artists pointing out what they saw as inadequate protections around artificial intelligence.
Alex Blank, an actor and SAG-AFTRA member, called the AI rulings “disappointing,” saying he had hoped for a strict ban on using actors’ likenesses to train AI models. He said that under the proposed contract, “producers would be allowed to generate a synthetic performer, and would only have to notify SAG and bargain with the union over its use,” a situation he said would amount to “allowing synthetic performers to compete with human performers.”
Blank also criticized some of the compensation provisions. “I don’t think what we’re getting will necessarily help the average actor’s pay,” he said, describing the criteria for receiving broadcast residuals — a form of ownership — as too narrow.
Three other union members who spoke to NBC News anonymously, fearing professional repercussions, had a range of views on the labor deal.
“I think the vote will be close,” one person speculated, noting that “a huge number of people voted no.”
Another union member — who served on the negotiating committee — had more praise for SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and the terms of the agreement.
“This is the best deal we’ve ever had, thanks to the hard work of Fran and the negotiating committee,” this person said. “We have come a long way and everyone will benefit.”
Drescher herself responded to critics of the initial deal.
“Unfortunately, there were some naysayers who took advantage of our momentum,” she reportedly told members in a Zoom meeting last month, according to Variety.
A third source, a SAG-AFTRA strike captain, said failure to ratify the new labor agreement was unlikely to lead to another strike. They said the guild and studios “will likely work things out and then hold the vote again.”
Few SAG-AFTRA members have any appetite left for another punitive sit-in after the recently ended one hurt the finances of many members. For months, tens of thousands remained without pay, as union negotiators and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (which represents Comcast, owner of NBCUniversal), negotiated issues such as the minimum wage and residuals in the streaming era.
The conversations have sometimes included some of Hollywood’s most powerful CEOs, including Disney’s Bob Iger, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, and NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley.
Linda Powell, executive vice president of SAG-AFTRA, said Saturday that discussion about the tentative deal was healthy.
“The reason we were able to achieve everything we did is because of the work our members did and the 118-day strike,” she said. “The engagement you’re seeing around the deal itself is a natural result of many of us being involved for a long time.”
She said she would be happy if the initial deal was approved by 51%.
“I think people have turned a corner and I think a lot of people have waited to vote in order to educate themselves more,” she said. “It’s a healthy process.”
