In fantastic news for everyone—except those who would shut down an orphanage at Christmastime to turn a home into an Air BnB for maximum profit—SAG-AFTRA has reached a tentative agreement with the studios and thus have ended their months-long labor stoppage. Strikes work, baby!
Per Variety, “The union’s negotiating committee approved the deal on a unanimous vote. The agreement next goes to the SAG-AFTRA national board for approval on Friday.”
The news, announced last night, is a welcome relief for many in the entertainment industry because it’s been a rough year between this and the WGA strike, which resolved at the end of September. Everyone can finally return to work and pay some of their bills.
It’s also good news for anyone who didn’t follow the antics of BravoCon obsessively last weekend. The end of the strike means that new scripted TV and movies will return soon(ish). Now, you don’t have to wade into the swamp that is reality TV just to watch something new and try to catch up on almost 20 years of Real Housewives lore to only slightly understand what’s going on.
So what’s in the new SAG-AFTRA agreement? Variety outlined some of the deal:
“The two sides spent the last several days putting the finishing touches on the deal, which will see the first-ever protections for actors against artificial intelligence and a historic pay increase. The deal will see most minimums increase by 7% — two percent above the increases received by the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America.
The deal also includes a “streaming participation bonus,” according to an email sent to SAG-AFTRA members, as well as increases in pension and health contributions. The union said the contract is worth more than $1 billion in total.”
Hell yes!
Before you get upset that in your day-to-day you’ll never see this much money (which, same!) and complain about fickle, entitled actors, please try to remember that if this weren’t going to the people who make the art we all enjoy so much, it would most likely be going to someone in a suit who learned how to make the world less joyous in business school. Think long and hard about who deserves that money more: the actors you know and can immediately identify when you see them or some nameless, faceless person who is most likely behind the decision to raise your streaming subscription prices and has the gall to try to insert ads into what you’re watching at the same time.
I don’t think anyone with common sense (so you know, the non-MBA types of the world) would argue against labor being severely undervalued in the world right now. Rather than get upset that actors are getting a more equitable slice of the extremely lucrative pie, ask yourself why you (most likely) don’t have labor protections for what you do.
While there are no details out yet on the AI component of the deal, which would have barred studios from owning and using an actor’s likeness in perpetuity, it does sound, at least from this Deadline article, that SAG-AFTRA got what they wanted there:
“Followed by two days of consultation by the guild, the November 3 delivery of the studios’ response to the guild’s latest counter and SAG-AFTRA’s November 6 counter response saw the two sides find an AI compromise and began moving things into what we now know was the final phase.”
It’s expected that full details of the agreement will be released by the end of the week.
No one gets everything they want in a contract negotiation, but the negotiating committee for SAG-AFTRA are very excited about this deal:
“Ben Whitehair, another member of the committee, said the deal is a ‘massive win’ for the union.
‘It’s incredibly emotional,’ he said. ‘We’ve made history.’
He said the union gained ‘structural change’ in compensation on streaming platforms. Though the union did not get everything it wanted, he said it would be back seeking more in the next negotiation in 2026.
‘When performers understand what was gained, they’re going to be thrilled,’ Whitehair said.”
Variety
No, your eyes don’t deceive you; there is another negotiation looming in 2026. Honestly, good. Keep the suits on their toes!
As for the rest of the world, rejoice! All the fluffy promotional appearances are back on, effective today. This means you’re about to see actors publicizing their new work, hanging out with puppies, doing ridiculous things on late-night talk shows, and eating really hot sauce while trying to speak through their tears. Perhaps, if we’re lucky, we’ll even get to see the additional Barbie-inspired outfits Margot Robbie had planned for her Barbie press tour.
It’s all on the table now that studios decided to be incrementally less greedy and share their profits with the people who helped generate those profits.
(featured image: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Published: Nov 9, 2023 09:14 am