After a grueling 118 days on strike, SAG-AFTRA has officially reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract with studios, a move that is heralding the end of the 2023 actors strike.
The SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Committee has given its unanimous approval to the agreement, as announced by SAG-AFTRA. This decision brings an end to the strike at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday. The next step involves presenting the deal to the union’s national board for approval, scheduled for Friday.
The provisional agreement was disclosed by the performers union after approximately two weeks of renewed negotiations. The announcement coincided closely with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’ deadline of 5 p.m., by which the union needed to provide their response on the status of the deal.
The preliminary details of the agreement are emerging, shedding light on key aspects that could influence the union’s ratification vote. The union has emphasized that the pact is valued at over $1 billion, offering pay increases surpassing those obtained by other unions this year. Notable features include a “streaming participation bonus,” regulations addressing artificial intelligence, higher caps on health and pension funds, enhanced compensation for background performers, and provisions safeguarding diverse communities. a grueling 118 days
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expressed satisfaction with the tentative agreement, describing it as a “new paradigm.” The AMPTP highlighted significant gains, including the largest increase in minimum wages in the last forty years, a new residual for streaming programs, consent and compensation protections related to artificial intelligence, and substantial increases across various contract items.
Negotiations, which resumed on October 2 after the work stoppage in July, saw the involvement of prominent industry figures like Ted Sarandos (Netflix co-CEO), David Zaslav (Warner Bros. Discovery CEO), Bob Iger (Disney CEO), and Donna Langley (NBCUniversal Studio Group chairman and chief content officer). Despite high hopes for a swift resolution, the studios walked out on October 11 due to disagreements, particularly over SAG-AFTRA’s proposal to charge a fee per streaming subscriber on major platforms.