Posted in: Movies, streaming, TV | Tagged: amptp, DGA, SAG-AFTRA, wga

SAG-AFTRA Ratifies Deal; Drescher, Crabtree-Ireland Comment: Details

SAG-AFTRA members voted to ratify a new deal, with SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland commenting

After a strike that lasted 118 days, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) notified its members on November 8th that the union and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) had reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year deal. The deal received unanimous approval from the union's TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee but would lose some support when it went before SAG-AFTRA's National Board – getting approved by a majority vote of 86%. With union members getting a chance to vote on the agreement beginning on November 14th, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland have been pushing back on criticisms from members like Justine Bateman and Matthew Modine, who've gone on the record as being against the deal over issues pertaining to AI, body imaging & consent. And now, it's after 8 pm ET on Tuesday, December 5th – and that means that voting on ratifying the new agreement has officially ended. With 38.15%  membership turnout, the agreement was ratified – with 78.33% voting in favor of the contract and 21.67% voting against. The new agreement will now take effect – retroactive to June 9, 2023, and will extend through June 30, 2026. Here's a look at the message sent out to membership earlier this evening:

SAG-AFTRA's transformational agreement with the AMPTP achieves some of the most significant updates to the contract in generations. The deal includes more than $1 billion in new compensation and benefit plan funding, along with outsized gains to the traditional residuals formulas. It offers a new compensation model for performers working in streaming, with a substantial bonus on top of existing residuals structures, plus compensation escalation for principal and background actors. Additionally, the deal establishes detailed informed consent and compensation guardrails for the use of AI, hair and makeup equity, meaningful protections for the casting process, sexual harassment prevention protections and more.

For a full list of the provisions achieved in this contract, please see the summary.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said, "I'm proud of our SAG-AFTRA membership. They struck for 118 days to grant the TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee the necessary leverage to secure over $1 billion in gains, along with the union's first-ever protections around AI technology. Now they've locked in the gains by ratifying the contract. SAG-AFTRA members have remained incredibly engaged throughout this process, and I know they'll continue their advocacy throughout our next negotiation cycle. This is a golden age for SAG-AFTRA, and our union has never been more powerful."

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said, "SAG-AFTRA members demanded a fundamental change in the way this industry treats them: fairness in compensation for their labor, protection from abusive use of AI technology, strengthened benefit plans, and equitable and respectful treatment for all members, among other things. This new contract delivers on these objectives and makes substantial progress in moving the industry in the right direction. By ratifying this contract, members have made it clear that they're eager to use their unity to lay the groundwork for a better industry, improving the lives of those working in their profession. In any democratic institution, there will be disagreement at times. But no one should mistake the robust debate and democracy within SAG-AFTRA for any lack of unity in our purpose or mission: to protect and advance the cause of SAG-AFTRA members, now and forever."

Votes were submitted online and by mail-in ballot, with the deadline of today, Dec. 5, 2023, at 5 p.m. PT. The final vote was certified by Integrity Voting Systems, an impartial election service based in Everett, Washington.

The agreement is effective retroactive to Nov. 9, 2023, and expires June 30, 2026.

Formal negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP began on June 7, 2023, and originally concluded at 11:59 p.m. PT. on July 12, 2023, following a brief extension to the previous TV/Theatrical contracts, which expired on June 30, 2023. The union called a strike beginning 12:01 a.m. July 14, which continued for 118 days until Nov. 9. The parties twice resumed negotiations from Oct. 2–12, and then again on Oct. 24, before officially concluding on Nov. 8. On Nov. 10, the SAG-AFTRA National Board met and voted by a majority of 86% to approve the agreements and recommend a "yes" vote.

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