After a majority vote on Friday by SAG-AFTRA’s National Board to endorse a tentative agreement negotiated with studio CEOs and the AMPTP earlier in the week, the actors’ guild has now disclosed additional details about the agreement.
As they have repeatedly said over the past two days since reaching a deal with the studios to end the 118-day strike, the guild stated today that “the total package” is “valued at more than one billion dollars in new wages and benefit plan funding.” More compensation information from the deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers came several hours after the SAG-AFTRA National Board voted 86% to approve it.
An 80-page summary of the comprehensive agreement, not publicly disclosed, is set to be distributed to eligible members of the guild on November 13. The ratification voting on this agreement is scheduled to commence on November 14 and will extend until the first week of December for the guild’s 160,000 eligible members. After a majority vote
Describing the tentative agreement as a “landmark achievement for the union,” SAG-AFTRA emphasized the inclusion of “meaningful protections” and consent rights related to AI—a significant point of contention in discussions with the studios. Unlike the recent press conference with SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the guild’s statement on Friday did not provide specific figures for the much-discussed “creation of a new compensation stream for performers working in streaming.”
As the campaign to secure members’ votes gains momentum, the guild highlighted various aspects of the agreement, including wage increases, casting guidelines, relocation allowances, and Health and Pension fund contribution caps. During the press conference following the board vote, some of these points were touched upon, although not in exhaustive detail.
The agreement introduces an unprecedented wage pattern featuring two increases in the first contract year—7% upon ratification and an additional 4% increase effective July 2024, resulting in a compounded first-year increase of 11.28%. Another 3.5% increase is slated for July 2025. This arrangement deviates from the so-called “industry pattern.”
Background actors will see their wages increase by 11% effective November 12, 2023, followed by an additional 4% hike on July 1, 2024, and another 3.5% increase on July 1, 2025. A groundbreaking development is the equalization of covered positions in the West Coast Zones with those in the East Coast Zones, projected to add nearly 11,000 new covered background work days annually.
The agreement also includes a substantial nearly 43% increase to the contribution cap for one-hour productions and an almost 67% increase to the cap for half-hour productions. These adjustments aim to boost contributions to the Health and Pension/Retirement funds and assist performers on those shows in maintaining qualification for benefit coverage.