SAG-AFTRA Members Begin Voting On Strike-Ending Contract

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Some 160,000 SAG-AFTRA members on Tuesday will begin voting on the union's contract with Hollywood studios that ended the actors strike.

Negotiators ironed out the tentative deal last week, ending the 118-day strike. The union's board approved the agreement on Friday, with 86 percent voting in favor, and now is encouraging rank-and-file members to do the same.

If the contract is approved, it will allow Hollywood to reopen fully following the end of the WGA strike earlier this fall.

"We have forged the biggest deal in industry history, which broke pattern, established new revenue streams and passed a historic $1 billion plus deal with the most progressive AI protections ever written," SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said. "I feel pretty confident in saying this is a paradigm shift of seismic proportions."

The deal between the actors union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers covers a wide range of topics including:

• a 7 percent increase in wages immediately, with additional increases in the second and third years of the contract
• guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence: studios will be required to obtain an actor's informed consent before creating a digital replica of them
• establishing a streaming participation bonus in addition to traditional residuals