The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) have reached a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) after a strike that lasted 118 days.
Few details of the deal have been released. AMPTP said in a statement,"Today’s tentative agreement represents a new paradigm. It gives SAG-AFTRA the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union, including the largest increase in minimum wages in the last forty years; a brand new residual for streaming programs; extensive consent and compensation protections in the use of artificial intelligence; and sizable contract increases on items across the board. The AMPTP is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement and looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories.”
The union is so far providing some details of the agreement, more of which will likely emerge in the next few days prior to the union’s ratification vote. In a message to members on Wednesday night, the union said the pact is valued at over $1 billion and includes pay increases higher than what other unions received this year, a “streaming participation bonus” and regulations on AI. The tentative deal also includes higher caps on health and pension funds, compensation bumps for background performers and “critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities.” If the deal is ratified, the contract could soon go into effect, and if not, members would essentially send their labor negotiators back to the bargaining table with the AMPTP.
When negotiations resumed October 2 after a three-month pause, there was optimism that a deal could be reached quickly. But negotiations stalled quickly after a union proposal that would have given performers a cut from every subscriber on major streaming services was rejected out of hand by the studios.
“We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers,” the union said in the email. “Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.”
Ben Whitehair, another member of the committee, said the deal is a “massive win” for the union.
“It’s incredibly emotional,” he said. “We’ve made history.”
He said the union gained “structural change” in compensation on streaming platforms. Though the union did not get everything it wanted, he said it would be back seeking more in the next negotiation in 2026.
“When performers understand what was gained, they’re going to be thrilled,” Whitehair said.
The full details are expected to be released Friday, after the national board vote.
“Critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities" no doubt means exactly what you think. This isn't surprising given the new guidelines for a production being included for consideration for an Academy Award.
Disney's Bob Iger said it might be too late to rescue a lot of films scheduled for the summer. “Obviously we’d like to try to preserve a summer of films,” Iger said. “The entire industry is focused on that. We don’t have much time to do that.”
Most of the films scheduled for release this summer are already "in the can" but need final editing and the addition of special effects and other post-production gimmicks that put the "wow" into action movies. Iger is questioning whether they can finish the major productions in time for a Memorial Day or Independence Day release.
Was it worth it for the union? From what little has been released so far, there's no doubt that the union got most of what they were asking for. But the studios were also able to maintain some flexibility in an uncertain market even if they did give up more than they were initially willing to pay.
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