SAG-AFTRA strike: The actors union reaches a tentative agreement with Hollywood and TV studios
New York
CNN
—
Hollywood actors have reached a tentative agreement with major film and television studios to end their historic strike, the actors union announced Wednesday. The strike shut down production across the industry for nearly four months and raised existential questions about the future of the entertainment sector.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, has been negotiating with the union on and off throughout the year to reach an agreement. Both AMPTP and representatives praised the deal.
Union President Fran Drescher called the agreement “historic,” and the studios said the agreement “represents a new model” for Hollywood, television and actors.
“We did it!!!! Billion+ dollar deal! 3X the last decade! New ground broken all around! Ty sag aftra members for sticking with this historic deal and sticking with it!” Drescher posted on Instagram on Wednesday.
The union said in a statement that the strike will officially end at midnight, concluding one of the longest and most disruptive strikes in Hollywood history that brought the industry to a halt.
“AMPTP is pleased to reach a tentative agreement and looks forward to the industry getting back to work telling great stories,” the studios said in a statement.
The White House praised the agreement, saying in a statement that it showed that “collective bargaining is working.”
Terms of the deal, which still needs to be ratified by union members before it goes into effect, were not immediately revealed. The union said it would not reveal it until the union council reviewed the deal.
But the Federation described in a statement to members the scope of the billion-dollar deal as “exceptional,” noting It includes significant increases in the minimum wage, AI protections, and a reward for participating in live streaming, along with better benefits.
“We have reached a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members of every category to build sustainable careers,” the union told members.
In an interview with CNN’s Kate Bolduan, Drescher said the contract “made significant progress.” One of the major sticking points in the negotiations was additional protections for digital actors’ likenesses that could be used with artificial intelligence, which Drescher said was added “very late in the evening the night before we died.”
“There was nothing in the contract that was considered consent, and they didn’t have to ask for permission for anything,” Drescher said of the previous contract language. “Now, they have to ask permission for everything.”
The union’s lowest-paid members also “got an incredible deal,” Drescher said.
The studios said in their statement that actors will receive “the largest contract gains in the union’s history, including the largest minimum wage increase in the last 40 years; New remains of broadcast programs; comprehensive protections for consent and compensation in the use of artificial intelligence; And significant increases in contracts on items across the board.
Drescher thanked AMPTP “for listening to us and meeting this moment.”
Actors represented by SAG-AFTRA are set to return to work after walking off set on July 14, joining the Writers Guild in a historic double strike against the studios — the first time writers and actors have struck simultaneously in more than a year. From 60 years.
While the writers’ strike was resolved in September, production remains shut down as actors continue to strike and negotiate their contract. At the heart of both confrontations is the rise of artificial intelligence, which threatens to turn the entire entertainment sector upside down.
The deal may face challenges in ratification. An online petition signed by more than 5,000 members recently urged the union to take a hard line in negotiations toward a final agreement, saying they will not agree to a deal that does not meet the demands set out at the start of the strike.
“We haven’t come all the way to the cave now,” the message read. “We did not go without work, without pay, and we did not walk on picket lines for months just to give up everything we were fighting for. We cannot and will not accept a contract that fails to address the vital, existential problems we all need to fix.”
The tentative agreement with AMPTP, once accepted by SAG leadership, will then go to the Guild Council. Drescher said the board has until Friday morning to approve it, at which point SAG, which has about 160,000 members, will vote on whether to ratify it.
Drescher told CNN that the relationship between SAG and AMPTP should be “business as usual and without issue” going forward.
The agreement was not reached easily – or quickly.
After several interruptions, the striking actors resumed negotiations on October 2 with the producers after a long period away from the negotiating table. The announcement of the resumption of talks came a day after leaders of the Writers Guild of America voted to allow its members to return to work following their tentative agreement reached on September 24 between guild negotiators, Hollywood studios and streaming services.
But the actors’ contract negotiations were short-lived, as they broke down on October 11 before returning later in the month.
By the end of October, it seemed that the actors’ strike was approaching its final scene. SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP made significant progress in negotiating sessions, reaching tentative understandings on key components of a potential deal, CNN reported.
Last weekend, the studios said they had presented the union with its “final, best and final offer.” But the union said in a letter to its members that there are many “key items” on which the two sides have not yet reached an agreement, such as the use of artificial intelligence.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said on Wednesday that she welcomed the decision to strike.
“I am grateful that a fair agreement was reached between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP after a strike that lasted more than 100 days and affected millions in Los Angeles and across the country,” Bass said. “The people on the line were the hardest hit during this period and there were ripple effects throughout our entire city.”
Hollywood’s most famous stars were eager to get back on set. George Clooney, Tyler Perry and other A-list actors have offered to pay millions more in union dues to help end the actors’ strike, a source familiar with the proposal previously told CNN.
The SAG-AFTRA deal comes on the heels of the Writers Guild, whose strike ended after 148 days. The WGA deal increased pressure on SAG-AFTRA to reach an agreement along the same lines. SAG-AFTRA joined the picket line just over two months after the Writers Guild strike.
Their contract, which expires in May 2026, includes pay raises, better benefits, protections from studios’ use of artificial intelligence, guarantees of broadcast compensation, longer terms of employment and other perks.
“We are pleased to see SAG-AFTRA members win a contract that creates new protections for performers and gives them a greater share of the tremendous value they create,” the WGA said in a statement Wednesday.
SAG-AFTRA’s demands were similar to those of the WGA, particularly regarding artificial intelligence and residual payments from streaming services for their work. The contract approved by the WGA includes guarantees that AI cannot write or rewrite literary material and will require disclosure of AI-generated material to writers. Both actors and writers alike believe that artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to their livelihoods.
A major point of contention during the negotiations was SAG-AFTRA’s demand for an 11% pay increase in the first year of the proposed contract term, while the studios agreed to only a 5% pay increase.
Work for many writers resumed immediately. Late night’s biggest hosts — Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Seth Meyers — quickly returned to the air after the writers’ strike ended. But Hollywood actors did not appear at shows to promote their films during the actors’ strike.
The strikes in Hollywood were costly, and had a nationwide economic impact of at least $5 billion, according to economists. The influences have gone beyond the production; It has affected local businesses and restaurants, as well as makeup artists and custodians.
CNN’s Liam Reilly contributed to this report.
