SAG-AFTRA reveals more about pay hikes and other details of ‘milestone’ deal with studios; Voting on ratification begins Tuesday

Following today’s majority vote in the SAG-AFTRA National Council to approve the tentative agreement reached earlier this week with studio executives and the AMPTP, the actors’ guild has released further details about the deal.

As they have said repeatedly over the past two days since reaching a deal with studios to end the 118-day strike, the guild said Friday that “the total package” is worth more than a billion dollars in new wages and benefits is. .” Two days after the guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached their tentative agreement, more compensation information about the deal was released Friday, just hours after the SAG-AFTRA National Council voted 86% to approve it .

An 80-page summary of the full agreement, which has not yet been released, will, I understand, be sent out to eligible guild members on November 13. Ratification voting on the agreement begins Nov. 14 and runs through the first week of December for the 160,000-member guild.

SAG-AFTRA called the tentative agreement tonight “a milestone for the union,” citing the “significant protections” and consent rights associated with AI — which have been a key sticking point in talks with studios. Unlike today’s press conference with SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the guild’s mission on Friday did not provide concrete numbers for its much-discussed “creating a new compensation stream for artists who stream doesn’t work.”

While the campaign to win members’ votes was already in full swing, the guild also had a lot to say on Friday on the topics of salary increases, staffing guidelines, relocation allowances and contribution limits for health and pension funds. In full pitch mode, some of this was addressed during today’s post-council vote press conference, though not in as much detail – you can see it below:

The agreement includes an unprecedented wage pattern with two wage increases in the first year of the contract: 7% upon ratification and an additional 4% from July 2024, for a total increase of 11.28% in the first year. From July 2025 there will be another increase of 3.5%. This package breaks the so-called “industry pattern”.

Background actor salaries will increase by 11% starting November 12, 2023, then an additional 4% starting July 1, 2024, and an additional 3.5% starting July 1, 2025. And in a monumental breakthrough, the number of jobs created in the West Coast zones will one day be covered for the first time, be equal to those in the East Coast zones. This is expected to create nearly 11,000 new covered background work days annually.

An increase in the contribution limit for one-hour productions by almost 43% and an increase in the contribution limit for half-hour productions by almost 67% will lead to higher contributions to health and pension funds and will benefit working artists on these shows. retain right to benefits.

The union succeeded in creating a new compensation regulation for artists working in the streaming sector. This provides a significant bonus over and above the existing residual structures and makes streaming work more sustainable for middle-class actors. The majority of this compensation is paid to actors in shows that meet certain audience requirements. The remaining money will be distributed to other players operating on these streaming platforms through a new shared trust distribution fund. This ensures better compensation and sustainability for a wider range of actors who contribute to the success of these platforms. The agreement also provides permanent residual pay for stunt coordinators working on television and new media productions.

The contract brought significant progress in the areas of hair and makeup equality, the sharing of aggregate diversity statistics, the elimination of inappropriate wigs and makeup, gender-neutral language, access to gender-affirming care and translation services. It also provides greater protections against sexual harassment for performers, including the use of intimacy coordinators in scenes with nudity and simulated sex or on request, as well as additional protections for background information.

Other benefits include setting minimum requirements by applying television terms to programs created for high-budget AVOD programming.

There are reasonable safeguards in place for the broadcast process, including provisions requiring outlines, pages and/or scripts to be provided at least 48 hours before the submission deadline (excluding weekends and holidays). For minors, this increases to 72 hours. Talent may not be required to perform more than eight (8) industry standard pages for a first tape or twelve (12) industry standard pages for a second or subsequent callback. In addition, artists are entitled to compensation if memorization is required. And performers should not be expected to appear nude or wear more revealing clothing than a swimsuit that might be worn at a public pool. Producers must also provide the opportunity to conduct virtual or in-person interviews on a first-come, first-served basis, with accommodations also made for artists with disabilities, experienced artists, and minors.

Significant improvements have also been made to relocation grants for series creators, which cover $5,000 per month for up to six months with no limit on the number of seasons. Based on employment patterns, this represents an effective increase in relocation allowances of 153%.

Looking at these salary increases, the cumulative total of about 14.8% is better than the 13% the WGA received in its deal a few months ago. But the rate of increase and the two bumps in July 2024 have more to do with the SAG-AFTRA contact being completed as late as 2023 — perhaps not as much against the industry pattern as the guild claims.

SAG-AFTRA’s criteria for its streaming bonus fund are similar to the WGA’s deal. Both appear to play a role in streaming shows and movies “watched by 20% or more of the service’s domestic subscribers in the first 90 days after release,” to quote the WGA agreement.

Speaking to the press on Friday, Crabtree-Ireland said that “our forecasts have to be subjected to some sort of stress test” and confirmed that the total payout to guild members from the streaming bonus fund over the life of the new contract will be around $120 million. . or $40 million per year. Setting up a new “pocket” for the cast, as Drescher said, and bringing the idea into future talks, $120 million is far less than the $500 million SAG-AFTRA asked for one at the start of talks have a share of the income. .

Despite all this, Drescher himself admitted that the criteria of the new artist compensation stream, which only begins to flow when a show is seen by 20% of a Steamboat’s subscriber base, will only amount to a “thimble of shows”. fill. Um Addressing potential criticism of the $120 million streaming bonus fund that could lead to 14% of the guild’s National Council voting against the contract ahead of today’s much-delayed news conference, the recently re-elected SAG-AFTRA chief said he hopes to achieve a reduction from 20% to 10% in the next treaty negotiations, which will begin before the expiration of this treaty on June 30, 2026, if ratified.

Speaking to Deadline after Friday’s press conference, Drescher also offered some hints about what she’s preparing for negotiations with studios in 2026 and “planning our play and playing our plan.”

At today’s press conference, both guild president Drescher and chief negotiator Crabtree-Ireland praised the deal for breaking the bargaining mold and being an “industry game-changer.” This is the same language used in the material sent out by SAG-AFTRA tonight. Whether this is generally the case or whether the SAG-AFTRA deal exhibits many of the characteristics of what the DGA and long-standing WGA achieved in June and September of this year, respectively, remains to be seen if we look at the entire summary. and the fine print.

Stay tuned