Industry News

It's Over! SAG-AFTRA and Studios Reach Deal to End Strike

After lengthy negotiations last week, days of deliberation by SAG-AFTRA after receiving the “last, best, and final” offer, and later a 5 pm PST deadline to respond on Wednesday, a tentative deal has been reached and the strike ends at 12:01 am Thursday.

A strike that when combined with the now over writers’ strike, “is estimated to have cost the California economy over $6.5 billion so far,” along with the loss of an estimated 45,000 entertainment jobs.

That gust of wind you just felt is the industry breathing a giant sigh of relief, and that rustling sound you hear now is everybody scrambling to get back to business.

The terms of the deal will still need to be ratified by SAG-AFTRA, and it will likely take up to a week to do so, which is longer than it took for the WGA to ratify after the writers' strike ended.

Generally, getting back to business is going to be a lengthier process with this strike than the writers' strike.

What’s in the deal?

According to Deadline, specific details of the deal are "expected to be revealed when the agreement goes to SAG's board on Friday."

The last main sticking point between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP was unsurprisingly around the use of AI. Specifically, regarding AI protections for high-earning (SAG) members. THR reported that according to multiple sources familiar with the negotiations, “entertainment companies [were] seeking to pay for scans, but not their use or re-use.”

Marathon negotiations continued and both sides eventually landed on an agreement "that will see the first-ever protections for actors against artificial intelligence and a historic pay increase."

Also according to Variety, "The deal will see most minimums increase by 7% — two percent above the increases received by the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America."