SAG-AFTRA members officially vote to establish a new contract with Hollywood studios

SAG-AFTRA members officially vote to establish a new contract with Hollywood studios – The actors’ strike came to an end a few weeks ago and the participants continue to exercise their responsibilities and rights.

By Megan Sauer

They were hectic months for the Hollywood industry. The actors’ strike made possible a total work stoppage, with thousands of workers joining the line of pickets, giving rise to a series of protests with the aim of asserting their rights above the interests of the industry’s major studios.

The conflict ended on November 9 and has since moved safely to a satisfactory agreement for the union. Now, according to new information from Deadline, union members have voted to establish and ratify a new contract with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers).

November 14 was when voting opened to give way to a 3-year contract in which SAG-AFTRA’s demands were met. The union revealed that 78.33% of members have voted in favor of a new agreement, a high number compared to what was expected, especially with the treatment of issues such as the use of artificial intelligence in many industry scenarios. The contract will be for three years and officially ends the strike that was in vogue for so long.

Deadline also reports that the contract will expire on June 30, 2026, and maintains that the voting number is higher than those achieved in previous years, when it was necessary to reach a new agreement and terms.

In 2020, the latest contract received 74% approval, while in 2017 it was 76%. Fran Drescher, president of the union, issued a statement regarding the current situation:

I am proud of our SAG-AFTRA membership. They struck for 118 days to give the Theater and Television Negotiating Committee the leverage needed to secure more than $1 billion in profits, along with the union’s first protections around artificial intelligence technology. This is a golden time for SAG-AFTRA and our union has never been more powerful.

The miracles of a union

SAG-AFTRA, which stands for Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, is an American union that represents professionals in the entertainment industry, including actors, voice-over artists, voice-over artists, journalists and other artists in the media.

It was formed in 2012 through the merger of two pre-existing unions: the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).

The union’s main objective is to protect and promote the labor and professional interests of its members, negotiating salary agreements, working conditions and benefits, as well as providing services and resources to improve the working conditions of artists in the entertainment industry.

SAG-AFTRA plays a crucial role in negotiating contracts with entertainment industry employers, setting standards for wages, working conditions and benefits for its members.

Additionally, the union works to ensure that artists receive royalties and fair compensation for the use of their work on various platforms, such as film, television, radio and the Internet. In addition to its negotiating role, SAG-AFTRA is also dedicated to promoting job security, equal opportunity, and defending intellectual property rights in the entertainment field.

The growing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the Hollywood industry raises significant challenges and concerns. One of the main negative impacts is the risk of automation of certain creative and technical jobs. AI, with its capabilities for machine learning and content generation, could threaten jobs in areas such as video editing, visual effects design and even scriptwriting, which could have an impact on creative diversity and the artistic quality of film productions.

Furthermore, the implementation of AI in financial and strategic decision-making could lead to greater concentration of power in the hands of algorithms, affecting opportunities for professionals and artists who rely on human creativity and intuition.

Another negative aspect is the risk that AI contributes to the proliferation of misinformation and deepfakes in the entertainment industry. AI’s ability to convincingly manipulate images and sounds could be exploited to create fake content, posing threats to the integrity of cinematic works and the reputations of artists.

Not only could this undermine public confidence in the authenticity of productions, but it could also have important ethical and legal implications in terms of misuse of technology to distort reality in the world of film and television.