SAG-AFTRA union members approved a four-year contract with a major studio that includes new provisions regarding synthetic actors and the merger of the union’s two pension funds.
Of those who voted, 91.4% voted in favor of the contract and 8.6% opposed. Voting rate was 19.3% of eligible members.
The deal allows producers to use AI performers only if they bring “significant added value” compared to a live actor or a digital avatar of that actor. The union argues that this language, combined with the arbitration clause, limits the use of AI replicas to a few special cases.
“We’re very confident that what we’ve been able to accomplish here is a precursor to what every industry wants to accomplish,” union president Sean Astin said in an interview last month.
The union’s executive director, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, said in a statement Thursday that the agreement builds on gains made during the 2023 actors strike and includes a clause that allows the use of AI replicas of actors only with the actors’ consent and payment. He said the deal improves survival conditions and “ensures synthetics remain the exception rather than the rule in our industry.”
“Most importantly, this agreement will enable our members to shape the future of this business while upholding the values of human performance and creativity,” Crabtree-Ireland said.
But some within the union have warned that studios impose few restrictions on the use of AI performers and are pushing for stronger regulation. Unions will also have notice and an opportunity to bargain if studios start using synthetic actors, but they won’t be in a position to strike over the issue until 2030.
Some argue that agreeing to a four-year term instead of the usual three-year term was a mistake given the pace of change in AI. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has made winning longer-term “labor peace” a top priority in all union negotiations this term, as studios hope to avoid a repeat of the strike in 2023.
The union’s national board previously voted 89% in favor of the deal, with a minority opposing the merger of the SAG Producer Pension Plan and AFTRA Retirement Fund. The funds have remained separate since the two unions merged 14 years ago amid concerns from SAG participants about the supposed rescue of the AFTRA plan.
The deal includes an additional 1% contribution from the studios to the combined pension scheme, and union leaders claim the arrangement will make members of both schemes better off.
Former Treasury Secretary candidate Peter Antico is leading the opposition to pension consolidation, which still requires the consent of other contributing employers. In a post on LinkedIn, he described the merger as a “recipe for disaster.”
Similar concerns were raised about the 2017 merger of SAG and AFTRA health plans, which resulted in significant benefit cuts several years later. Union leaders argue that the two cases are not similar and that actuarial projections for pension consolidation make it clear that combined plans will be stable into the future.
As is customary, AMPTP congratulated SAG-AFTRA on ratifying the agreement.
“This agreement provides meaningful improvements in wages, pensions, medical benefits, streaming residuals, and performer protections,” the studio group said. “SAG-AFTRA’s leadership has delivered a real commitment to the partnership. Together with the WGA agreement, these deals demonstrate what is possible when the industry works towards practical solutions that support long-term stability. We look forward to building on that momentum.”
AMPTP continues to negotiate with the Directors Guild of America, whose contract is set to expire on June 30th. The key issues in the negotiations are employment, AI, and healthcare.
