SAG-AFTRA approves agreement to end historic 118-day strike

SAG-AFTRA has approved a deal to end the longest actors’ strike in history, the union announced Wednesday, Nov. 8.

Hollywood film and television production has come to a virtual standstill since the Writers Guild of America went on strike on May 2. They were joined on July 14 by SAG-AFTRA, the union representing tens of thousands of actors. An agreement was reached to end the strike on September 27, but SAG-AFTRA continued its tough negotiations.

The union’s negotiating committee unanimously approved the agreement after days of meetings to finalize it. While the SAG-AFTRA National Council will still have to give its approval when it reviews the agreement on Friday, November 10, the strike will officially end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, November 9.

“We have reached the finish line!!!!” president of the union Fran Drescher he wrote via Instagram moments after news of the deal broke. “The deal is worth more than a billion dollars! 3 times the last contract! New roads opened up everywhere! [Thank you] subsequently sinking [sic] Members for holding true to this historic agreement!

It was the longest strike in the union’s 90-year history and many points of contention were resolved in months-long negotiations. The deal, which will be announced in full on Friday, guaranteed a historic 7% wage increase across most minimum wages. From Variety, which is 2% more than the raises received by the Writers Guild of America and the Director’s Guild of America. Additionally, the deal includes better healthcare funding, rules and regulations for film studios on taped auditions, and the first protections for actors against artificial intelligence (AI). The new agreement ensures that movie studios will not use artificial intelligence to create digital replicas of an actor’s image without payment or approval.

One point that SAG-AFTRA could not support was receiving a percentage of revenue from the streaming service. The union initially proposed a 2% cut (later dropped to 1%) and eventually moved to a per-subscriber rate, according to the New York Times. This was highlighted as a high priority for the union, but ultimately proved non-negotiable for the streaming platforms.

The historic deal means Hollywood will be in a frenzy as studio executives race to get production back on track as quickly as possible.

CEO of Disney Bob Iger During an appearance on CNBC on Wednesday, he warned of more severe consequences if the strike lasted longer.

“Obviously we would like to try to preserve a summer of movies,” he said at the time, noting that he was “optimistic” that a deal was on the horizon. “The whole industry is focused on this. “We don’t have much time to do this.”