Hollywood actors ended their months-long strike last week after a tentative contract agreement was approved and awaiting ratification.
Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) picketed outside major studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) for months until
this deal was made.
“I was determined to redefine SAG-AFTRA as not only the largest entertainment union in the world, but the most powerful," SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement. "And now that we have forged the biggest deal in industry history which broke pattern, established new revenue streams and passed a historic $1 billion-plus deal with the most progressive AI protections ever written, I feel pretty confident in saying this is a paradigm shift of seismic proportions! "
Initially, it was revealed that actors would be better protected with the use of artificial intelligence, a point that reportedly held up the negotiation process.
We now know that the agreement also includes three wage increases, with a 7% increase coming immediately after the contract's ratification 7%, followed by a 4% increase in July 2024, for a total increase of 11.28%. The third wage increase of 3.5% will come in July 2025.
Wages for nearly 11,000 background actors were also increased by 11% effective November 12, with a 4% increase coming July 1, 2024 and a 3.5% increase July 1, 2025.
There will also be a roughly 43% increase to the contribution cap for one-hour productions and a roughly 67% increase to the cap for half-hour productions for the actors, which will activate an increase in Health and Pension/Retirement funds.
A bonus for streaming, on top of the current residual structure, will also affect "middle-class actors" and stunt performers with SAG-AFTRA said will be "more sustainable."
"This ensures improved compensation and sustainability for a wider range of actors contributing to the success of those platforms," SAG-AFTRA said of the streaming compensation. "The agreement also adds fixed residuals for stunt coordinators working on television and new media productions."
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