SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP Reach a Historic Deal After Four-Month Strike

The four months-long SAG-AFTRA strike comes to an end as the Screen Actors Guild finally agrees to a tentative deal with AMPTP.

The SAG-AFTRA began its strike in July 2023 regarding issues such as unequal pay, the use of artificial intelligence to replace actors, self-tape auditions, and streaming residuals.

The strike lasted for four months, becoming the longest-running strike in the history of SAG-AFTRA. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) was also a part of the protests, demanding better wages and working conditions. In fact, it was WGA who started the strike, after which SAG-AFTRA joined in.

After five months, SAG-AFTRA has announced that they have reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers (AMPTP) over a three-year contract that promises to “make a long-term difference for the future of our members in this industry.”

The deal guarantees an increase in the present wage structure, the introduction of a streaming participation bonus, and increased protections against the use of actors’ voices and images to replicate them using AI. The strike officially ended on November 9, Thursday and more details will follow on November 10, Friday.

The SAG-AFTRA includes almost 160,000 members, who’ve all been on strike since July. The union, along with the writers of the WGA, refused to work on any project until an agreement was reached.

The SAG-AFTRA strike caused major disruption throughout the entertainment industry as projects were left on hold, and the release of several shows and films was delayed.

Big projects such as Dune: Part 2, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars have been delayed by several months. James Cameron’s Avatar series and Disney’s live-action adaptations of Moana and Lilo and Stitch were also affected by the strike.

Major Hollywood stars stopped attending film premiers and other events in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA. Members of the union were not allowed to sign any new project or promote their own work either.

Finally, the deal, valued at a staggering $814 million, has ended the strike. The AMPTP announced that they are pleased to have reached this agreement and look forward to “the industry resuming the work of telling great stories.” The union also called the deal “the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union.”

Let’s hope that the new agreement resolves most of the issues faced by the writers and actors of Hollywood, and they can get back to telling beautiful stories on screen.