Tentative Agreement Reached!

Late afternoon on Nov. 8, 118 days into the TV/Theatrical/Streaming strike — the longest strike in the union’s history and the largest U.S. strike since the 1997 UPS workers strike — the Negotiating Committee reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP.

Though many on the Negotiating Committee were exhausted after more than 10 hours of deliberations the previous day, hugs were shared and tears were shed following the unanimous vote to approve the tentative agreement.

“This has been the most extraordinary Negotiating Committee,” National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said. “Unbelievable. So powerful. So impressive. So inspiring for me and, I know, all of the staff.”

Together, the gains achieved in the contract are expected to generate over $1 billion in new compensation and funding to the benefit plans. The Nov. 11 episode of Saturday Night Live celebrated the strike’s end with Timothée Chalamet singing about returning to “a magical world where actors can, once again, talk about their projects.”

The new agreement was made possible by the membership’s phenomenal solidarity and support for their TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee. A huge debt of gratitude is also owed to all the entertainment industry unions for rallying behind the actors throughout our 118-day strike. This victory is everyone’s victory. In the face of artificial intelligence technology potentially changing the entertainment landscape, protections for performers mean the preservation of tens of thousands of jobs in the entertainment community.

The morning the strike ended, President Joe Biden released a statement congratulating the union. “Collective bargaining works ... Over the last three years, workers have won historic victories that ensure record pay, record benefits, and an economy that grows from the middle out and bottom up. SAG-AFTRA members will have the final say on this contract, but the sacrifices they made will ensure a better future for them, their families and all workers who deserve a fair share of the value they helped create.”

SAG-AFTRA members will now be asked to ratify this game-changing contract. These deal points will revolutionize the industry, and performers will receive improved streaming compensation, unprecedented wage escalation and crucial protections around the use of artificial intelligence technology.

Throughout the wages and working conditions process, members stressed the need for structural changes in the way they are compensated for their labor, and the union made critical progress in moving the industry in the right direction. In particular, members will see economic and streaming gains along with AI protections in this new package.

CONTRACT GAINS

• NEW COMPENSATION STREAM for performers working in streaming. It provides a substantial bonus on top of existing residuals structures, making work on high budget SVOD productions more sustainable for middle-class actors.
• A nearly 43% increase to the benefit plan contribution cap for one-hour productions and a nearly 67% increase to the cap for half-hour productions. These increases should generate OVER $180 MILLION TO THE BENEFIT PLANS over the course of the contract, as well as help performers working on those shows to continue qualifying for benefit coverage.
• MEANINGFUL PROTECTIONS FOR THE CASTING PROCESS have been established, including provisions for self-tapes specifying that breakdowns, sides, and/or scripts shall be provided no less than 48 hours prior to the submission deadline (excluding weekends and holidays). This is increased to 72 hours for minors.
• Talent may not be asked to perform more than eight industry-standard pages for a first self-tape or 12 industry-standard pages for a second or subsequent call back.
• INFORMED CONSENT and compensation for the creation and use of A.I. digital replicas of our members, living and deceased, whether created on set or obtained from other materials.
• PATTERN-BREAKING COMPENSATION ESCALATION, with two wage increases in the first year of the contract — 7% general wage increase effective Nov. 9, 2023, and another 4% increase effective July 1, 2024, for a compounded first-year wage increase of 11.28%. Plus another 3.5% increase effective July 1, 2025.
• UNPRECEDENTED BACKGROUND ACTOR WAGE PATTERN with two wage increases in the first year of the contract — 11% effective Nov. 9, 2023, and another 4% increase effective July 1, 2024, for a compounded first-year wage increase of 15.51%. Plus another 3.5% increase effective July 1, 2025.
• Finally INCREASES THE NUMBER OF COVERED POSITIONS for background actors in the West Coast Zones to equal those of the East Coast Zones — a first! This is projected to create 10,700 additional days of covered background work annually.
• Substantial improvements in relocation allowances for series performers, covering $5,000 per month for up to six months. Based on employment patterns, this amounts to a 153% EFFECTIVE INCREASE IN RELOCATION PAYMENTS.
• Producers are now also required to provide OPPORTUNITIES TO INTERVIEW VIRTUALLY OR IN PERSON on a first come, first served basis, with accommodations for performers with disabilities, senior performers and minors.
• If a virtual audition requires performers to memorize, they are still ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION.
• The contract achieved important GAINS FOR HAIR AND MAKEUP EQUITY, the sharing of aggregate diversity statistics, eliminating inappropriate “wiggings” and “paintdowns,” gender neutral language, access to gender-affirming care, and translation services. 
• ADDITIONAL SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION PROTECTIONS for performers, including the use of intimacy coordinators in scenes involving nudity and simulated sex or upon request, and additional safeguards for background actors. INFORMED CONSENT and compensation for the creation and use of A.I. digital replicas of our members, living and deceased, whether created on set or obtained from other materials.
• PERFORMERS ARE ENTITLED TO CONSENT when a producer uses the performer’s name and features to prompt a generative artificial intelligence system to create a “synthetic performer” or “fake” with a principal facial feature (eyes, ears, nose and/or mouth) that is recognizable as that of the performer.
• Confirmed COVERAGE OF PERFORMANCE CAPTURE work. Outsized gains to the traditional formulas for High Budget SVOD residuals: SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES IN COMPENSATION for foreign exhibition and increases to the residuals ceilings.
• ESTABLISHES MINIMUMS by applying television terms, including residuals, for high budget made-for-AVOD (free streaming) programming.
• Addition of some fixed RESIDUALS FOR STUNT COORDINATORS who do not perform on camera stunts and achievement of outsized increases for stunt coordinators working under
• flat-deal minimums in television.
• INCREASES TO SCHEDULE BREAKS (minimums) for Schedule F performers.
• APPLICATION OF MAJOR ROLE TERMS to high-budget SVOD and the first season of made-for-pay TV series.
• ADDED TRANSPARENCY, ensuring actors know how much of their episodic guarantee is initial compensation versus how much is residuals.
• DOUBLING PAY for singers who dance and dancers who sing.
• ELIMINATION OF THE DISCOUNTED REHEARSAL RATE for dancers.

This item was originally featured in the SAG-AFTRA fall/winter 2023 magazine issue.