A Message From Your National Executive Director - Updates on COVID-19 Safety Agreement

Dear Member,

I am writing to share that the joint unions (SAG-AFTRA, DGA, IATSE, IBT Motion Picture Division, Basic Crafts) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have reached an agreement regarding the expiration of the COVID-19 Safety Agreement and its related protocols on May 11, 2023. This means that the expiration of the Return to Work agreement will be concurrent with the date the federal government has identified for the expiration of the Coronavirus public health emergency. 

Meeting over the past two days, the SAG-AFTRA President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Safety and the Executive Committee reviewed and unanimously approved the negotiated agreement.

As you know, the Return to Work Agreement protocols were first adopted in September 2020 following a six-month industrywide production shutdown. The agreement was the result of cooperation and solidarity between the entertainment industry unions in collaboration with the employers. It has served its purpose of keeping our members safe and the industry working during an unprecedented global pandemic.

Beginning on May 12, 2023, all protocols that have been implemented under the Return to Work Agreement will end, except for the following specific provisions:

1. The joint unions have secured an additional five paid COVID-19 sick days for all employees through the end of 2023. This is an important consideration which ensures that employees do not feel an undue economic pressure to come to work when ill.
2. Projects in production as of May 11, 2023, which had already established a mandatory vaccination policy in Zone A, may continue that policy for the duration of that production. For episodic projects, this applies only to the season in production as of May 11, and not for subsequent seasons.
3. SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP have reached an agreement on continued testing upon request for performers involved in intimate scenes and scenes involving extreme physical exertion to ensure their safety and well-being, continuing through July 31, 2023. For performers and background actors working in scenes involving close or intimate contact or extreme exertion, starting May 12, 2023, you will have the right to request COVID antigen self-administered testing of yourself and of other performers and background actors with whom you will be working in close or intimate contact. Those requests will need to be directed to a specified point of contact on the production team at least 24 hours in advance unless you are cast less than 24 hours in advance. The identity of the performer or background actor making the request will be kept confidential. The right to make these requests will continue until July 31, 2023, unless further extended.

With the public health emergency ending and the expiration of the COVID-19 Return to Work Agreement, individual employers continue to be responsible for ensuring safe workplaces for their employees, but must seek separate agreement with or waivers from the applicable joint unions before implementing any COVID safety protocols.

I want to thank our officers and the entire National Board for their support, dedication and collective wisdom over the past three years of the pandemic and its aftermath. I’d also like to thank the extraordinary staff of SAG-AFTRA and our partners in the other joint unions for their continuous hard work and dedication to safety. Our members have benefitted from industry-leading and robust protections that ensured a safe and consistent production environment.

Stronger together,

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland

National Executive Director