SAG-AFTRA reaches deal, suspends strike

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 9, 2023) — SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating committee has agreed to a tentative deal with the major studios and suspended the union’s historic strike — as of 12:01 a.m. this morning — that shut down the entertainment industry for nearly four months.

“We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers,” the union reported.

The SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee sent the following message to members on Wednesday:

We are thrilled and proud to tell you that today your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. As of 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 9, our strike is officially suspended and all picket locations are closed. We will be in touch in the coming days with information about celebration gatherings around the country.

In a contract valued at over $1 billion dollars, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes “above-pattern” minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus. Our Pension & Health caps have been substantially raised, which will bring much needed value to our plans. In addition, the deal includes numerous improvements for multiple categories including outsize compensation increases for background performers, and critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities.

We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers. Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.

Full details of the agreement will not be provided until the tentative agreement is reviewed by the SAG-AFTRA National Board.

We also thank our union siblings — the workers that power this industry — for the sacrifices they have made while supporting our strike and that of the Writers Guild of America. We stand together in solidarity and will be there for you when you need us.

Thank you all for your dedication, your commitment and your solidarity throughout this strike. It is because of YOU that these improvements became possible.

In solidarity and gratitude,
Your TV/TH Negotiating Committee

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, representing the studios, hailed the agreement as a “new paradigm” in a statement released Wednesday.

“(The tentative agreement) gives SAG-AFTRA the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union, including the largest increase in minimum wages in the last forty years; a brand new residual for streaming programs; extensive consent and compensation protections in the use of artificial intelligence; and sizable contract increases on items across the board,” the AMPTP said.