Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP
The actors' strike is expected to end after their union SAG-AFTRA announced that a tentative deal had been reached with the major Hollywood studios. SAG-AFTRA reached the agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers (AMPTP) in a unanimous vote on Wednesday, bringing about the end of a strike that lasted 118 days.
“In a contract valued at over $1bn, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope,” the union said in a public statement. The union pointed to larger-than-expected increases in minimum compensation, a first-time “streaming participation bonus”, and “unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI” as the high points of their new deal.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher posted: "We did it!!!!" when news of the deal first broke. She thanked members "for hanging in and holding out for this historic deal!" Chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, meanwhile, told Reuters there were "definitely some tears, a lot of big smiles, a lot of hugs" when the two sides reached an agreement.
Union negotiating committee member Kevin E West, however, told Variety that while there were "tears of exhilaration and joy" after the contract was approved, the agreement was "not perfect". Shaan Sharma, another negotiatior, told the New York Times that not all of the union's demands were met.
AMPTP said it "looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories." It added that SAG-AFTRA had made "the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union."
SAG-AFTRA said the strike will officially end on Thursday, with precise details of the deal to follow on Friday following a meeting.