BY NBC NEWS
Expectations for a tight ratification vote have been raised by strident opposition of the proposed three-year labor agreement, which may become official within days between Hollywood’s actors and its film and TV companies.
vote on the preliminary agreement has been taking place over the past several weeks among members of the SAG-AFTRA union, which represents over 150,000 actors in movies and television. The vote is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday.
Just after Thanksgiving, the 129-page deal was made completely public. It was the result of an unprecedented 118-day strike that earlier this year virtually stopped production in Hollywood, halting everything from blockbuster films to network programs and streaming content.
Following a 148-day strike, the Hollywood screenwriters’ union, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), decisively approved their contract in October. In June, the Directors Guild of America overwhelmingly accepted its contract without calling a strike.
The two other unions made demands that were similar to those of SAG-AFTRA, including as more base pay, a larger share of streaming income, and stronger regulations restricting the use of artificial intelligence in media projects. The last time WGA and SAG-AFTRA went on simultaneous strikes was in 1960. That changed this year. SAG-AFTRA
On November 10, the accord was approved by the actors union’s national board, which consists of over 70 members, with over 86% voting in favor. However, a loud minority of board members openly criticized it.
Speaking on Saturday, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the main negotiator for SAG-AFTRA, said that there is “no better alternative than to go forward with this agreement.”
“Is it flawless? No. However, it is ground-breaking and a contract that does what our members want of us with really large economic increases—more than the prior three talks combined—and it’s a foundation for future AI developments, according to Crabtree-Ireland. “We will be back at it in 2 ½ years.” SAG-AFTRA
The package, “valued at more than one billion dollars in new wages and benefit plan funding, is a landmark achievement for the union,” the board stated in a statement after the vote.
The statement said, “The agreement offers significant safeguards regarding the application of artificial intelligence, such as informed consent and payment for the production and usage of digital portraits of our members, both alive and dead, whether produced on set or under license.”
However, when information of the preliminary agreement spread, several artists took to social media to draw attention to what they saw as inadequate safeguards around AI, using the hashtag #SAGAFTRAvoteNO. SAG-AFTRA
The AI rules, in the words of actor and SAG-AFTRA member Alex Plank, are “disappointing.” He had anticipated for strong limitations against the exploitation of actors’ likenesses to train AI models. “Producers are allowed to generate a synthetic performer and just have to notify SAG and bargain with the union over its use,” he added, referring to the proposed contract’s provision that would “allow synthetic performers to compete with human ones.”
Plank also took issue with a few of the pay clauses. He said, “I don’t think what we got will necessarily help the average actor’s pay,” calling the requirements for qualifying for streaming residuals, a kind of royalties, too stringent.
Fearing repercussions from their careers, three additional union members who talked with NBC News under pseudonyms had differing opinions about the labor agreement.
With “an overwhelming amount of people voting no,” one conjectured, “I think the vote will be close.”
More appreciation for SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and the conditions of the deal came from a different union member who was on the bargaining committee.
The individual said, “Fran and the negotiating committee deserve all the credit for this—it’s by far the best deal we’ve ever gotten.” “Everyone will gain from our considerable progress.”
Drescher has responded to those who have criticized the provisional agreement.
She apparently informed participants in a Zoom conference last month that “sadly, some naysayers have exploited this momentum of ours,” according to Variety.
According to a third source, a strike captain from SAG-AFTRA, it seems unlikely that another strike will be initiated if the new labor agreement is not ratified. According to them, the studios and the union “would probably just work things out and then hold the vote again.”
After the last picket that severely damaged many members’ financially, few SAG-AFTRA members are willing to participate in another harsh demonstration. Tens of thousands of workers were unpaid for months as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that represents Comcast, the company that owns NBCUniversal, and union negotiators wrangled over issues like minimum wages and residuals in the age of streaming.
Occasionally, the discussions included some of the most influential CEOs in Hollywood, such as Bob Iger of Disney, Ted Sarandos of Netflix, David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery, and Donna Langley of NBCUniversal.
Executive vice president of SAG-AFTRA Linda Powell said on Saturday that there was a constructive discussion over the proposed agreement.
“Our members’ dedication to their work and their 118-day strike allowed us to accomplish as much as we did,” she said. “With so many of us being involved for so long, it’s only natural that you’re seeing this level of engagement around the deal itself.”
If even 51% of people supported the proposed arrangement, she would be satisfied.
“I believe that a lot of people delayed voting in order to further their education, and I also believe that people are turning the corner,” she said. “This is a healthy procedure.”
