SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP Reach Deal to End Actor’s Strike

SAG-AFTRA officially went on strike back in July and now, after 118 days, the actors’ union’s historic strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is at an end. It was officially announced today that SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP have tentatively reached a deal, effectively ending the strike. The announcement comes on the heels of recent negotiations that had reportedly seen things enter the home stretch in terms of coming to an agreement.

According to Variety, the union announced on Wednesday that negotiators have approved a tentative agreement that will end the strike — the longest against film and television studios in Hollywood history. The actors’ union reached approved the deal in a unanimous vote which will next go to the SAG-AFTRA national board for approval on Friday. The strike will officially end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, November 9th. The deal will reportedly see significant protections for actors regarding artificial intelligence and a historic pay increase as well.

What Happens Now That an Agreement Has Been Reached?

A few things are likely to happen now that an agreement has been reached. There will be an official vote for SAG-AFTRA members to ratify the new deal which will mark the official end of the strike when that happens. Additionally, various television and film productions will likely resume soon as the Writers Guild of America ended their strike with the AMPTP in early October, allowing writers to get back to work on projects. The actors reaching a deal also means that we should begin to see promotion for new film and television resume, something that was also halted during the strike.

Why Did SAG-AFTRA Go On Strike?

SAG-AFTRA initially went on strike earlier this year to address many of the same issues already tackled in studio deals with the Director’s Guild of America (DGA) and WGA. Among those issues were concerns about royalty and residual payments as well as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on the part of the studios to reduce labor costs. Back in May, SAG-AFTRA’s national board unanimously agreed to send an authorization vote to members, with and 97.91 percent of members ultimately voting in favor of authorization.

“Yesterday our union celebrated the 90th anniversary of the incorporation of Screen Actors Guild,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator said during a press conference. “During our nearly century long existence we’ve fought for and achieved countless gains for working actors. Today, we embark on a new important chapter in our union’s history. Earlier this morning, the SAG-AFTRA national board convened following four weeks of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers in a meeting, because AMPTP remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on key issues essential to protecting the livelihoods of working actors and performers. SAG AFTRA as national board unanimously voted to issue a strike order against the studios and streamers.”