After a historically long strike, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Actors (SAG-AFTRA), the union representing thousands of actors, has closed its picket lines. Beginning in July of this year, the strike lasted over 100 days, and concluded last Wednesday after the union reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
The tentative agreement includes new provisions for the highest-priority issues among members, such as better benefits, higher compensation for shows and movies on streaming services, as well as promises regarding artificial intelligence and self-taped auditions. The agreement is pending official board approval, but it is expected that board members will rule in favor of the new deal.
SAG-AFTRA’s committee approved the agreement in a unanimous vote, after much negotiation. The deal includes protections against the ever-present threats of AI and an unprecedented pay increase.
The agreement represents a lot for actors across the country, who have been fighting for fair compensation for their work. SAG-AFTRA entered their strike following the Writers Guild of America (WGA), whose strike began in May and ended in late September. These strikes completely halted any writing or production, putting the industry at a complete standstill.
SAG-AFTRA also prohibited any union members from advertising or speaking about their work during the strike. This meant that many actors were not allowed to discuss any projects that were released during the strike or were upcoming. If they promoted “struck work,” they were subject to punishments including fines, suspension, expulsion for members and exclusion from joining the union in the future for non-members.
The demands of both SAG-AFTRA and WGA were simple — they were demanding adequate compensation for their work and protection of their jobs in the face of AI. The driving force behind the fight for better compensation for writers and screen actors alike was the rise of streaming in movies and television. The shift from network television and traditional box-office movie releases to streaming services has resulted in shorter seasons for TV shows, and most notably, significantly less residual pay.
The threat of AI was also of very high priority on the picket lines. The advances in AI were deeply alarming for writers and actors, fearing their jobs could be replaced. Writers worried that they would no longer be needed for scriptwriting, and actors were frightened by the possibility of AI regenerating their likeness without their permission or compensation. Refusal of the AMPTP to address their concerns before their agreement expired, resulted in the months-long strikes.
SAG-AFTRA’s committee approved the agreement in a unanimous vote, after much negotiation. The deal includes protections against the ever-present threats of AI and an unprecedented pay increase. The union managed a 7 percent minimum increase, which is two percent higher than that of the WGA and Directors Guild. The deal also includes provisions for streaming bonuses, as demanded.
Now that actors and writers can relax knowing their demands have been heard, there also comes the urge to get back into production. Many shows are already slated to head back into production later this month, including Abbott Elementary, Grey’s Anatomy, Young Sheldon, Pretty Little Liars, and many others.
In the coming months, many creatives on shows forced to halt production due to the strikes will head back to the writers rooms and return to sets. The end of the SAG-AFTRA strike signals hope for actors, writers and fans alike, who can now return to producing and enjoying their favorite TV shows and movies.
mkane10@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @sagaftra, X
