Hollywood actors vote to approve deal, ending nearly four-month strike

Hollywood’s actors have voted to ratify the deal with studios that ended their strike after nearly four months, bringing an official finish to the labour strife that shook the entertainment industry for most of 2023.

The approval of the three-year contract from the members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced Tuesday night by union leaders was no certainty, with some prominent members voicing dissent on the deal their negotiators bargained for.

The 78% yes result in voting that began Nov. 13 and ended Tuesday was a far cry from the near-unanimous approval and widespread enthusiasm members of the Writers Guild gave to the deal that ended their strike in September.

The outcome is a major relief for SAG-AFTRA leaders and an entertainment industry that is attempting to return to normal after months of labour strife. And it brings a final, official end to Hollywood labour’s most tumultuous year in half a century, with two historic strikes that shook the industry.

Just over 38% of members cast votes, SAG-AFTRA said.

All 145,000 members could vote on the deal, not just the approximately 60,000 TV and movie actors who went on strike and worked under the contract.

“I’m very happy with the result," Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's executive director and chief negotiator, said Tuesday night. “I think having almost an 80% ‘yes’ vote with almost a 40% turnout for our members, that’s really unprecedented for any kind of contract where it’s not just a unanimous chorus of yeses.”

Return 'in full force'

The union had freed actors to return to work, declaring the strike over as soon as the tentative deal was struck on Nov. 8 with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, streaming services and production companies in union negotiations.

Two days later, it was approved by the Guild’s board with an 86% vote.

“The AMPTP member companies congratulate SAG-AFTRA on the ratification of its new contract, which represents historic gains and protections for performers," the AMPTP said in a statement Tuesday night.

"With this vote, the industry and the jobs it supports will be able to return in full force.” Control over the use of artificial intelligence was the most hard-fought issue in the long, methodical negotiations and became the main driver of dissent during the voting.

“I also firmly believe that the approach we took to it and what we achieved in this negotiation were the best possible way to address AI at this time with these companies and in this industry.” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said shortly after the resolution was reached that making sure AI reproductions of actors could only be used with their informed consent and compensation was a “deal breaker” in the talks.

The contract calls for a 7% general pay increase, with further hikes coming in the second and third years of the deal. The deal also includes a hard-won provision that temporarily derailed talks: the creation of a fund to pay performers for future viewings of their work on streaming services, in addition to traditional residuals paid for the showing of movies or series.

The provision is an attempt to bring payment systems in line with an industry now dominated by streaming, a reality that is almost certain to fuel more labour fights — and possibly more strikes — in the coming years.