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Hollywood actors' union Sag-Aftra ratifies strike-ending contract

Getty Images SAG-AFTRA members and supporters on the picket line as the SAG-AFTRA Union Strike continues in front of NBC Studios on August 31, 2023 in New York City. Members of SAG-AFTRA and WGA (Writers Guild of America) have both walked out in their first joint strike against the studios since 1960. The strike has shut down a majority of Hollywood productions with writers in the third month of their strike against the Hollywood studios.Getty Images
Sag-Aftra members were on strike for 118 days against major TV and film companies.

US actors union Sag-Aftra has ratified its contract with Hollywood studios, a month after a tentative deal was agreed.

Although actors have already returned to work, the ratification formally ends the strike which began on 14 July.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) said 78% of members voted in favour of the multi-year contract. Turnout was 38%.

Actors won $1bn (£790m) in new compensation and benefits as well as protections from studios' use of AI.

Union president Fran Drescher said: "This is a golden age for Sag-Aftra, and our union has never been more powerful."

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios including Netflix and Walt Disney, said "the industry and the jobs it supports will be able to return in full force" now the three-year contract had been ratified.

A tentative deal between Sag-Aftra and Hollywood studios was agreed in November, putting an end to the 118-day strike that paralysed the entertainment industry and disrupted numerous major films and TV shows.

Watch: Sag-Aftra actors get a new contract. What's in it?

The deal includes, among other things:

  • An immediate 11% pay increase for background actors
  • A $40m (£32m) residual bonus for actors who work on series or films released via streaming services that become successful
  • AI protections that require "informed consent and fair compensation" for any living or dead performer
  • New make-up and hairstyling requirements, including experts for performers with diverse hair textures and skin types
  • A first-ever requirement to hire intimacy co-ordinators on set for scenes involving sex and nudity

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union's chief negotiator, said that although the deal was not "perfect", it had a "lot of really important gains".

He added that it was a deal he was "really proud of".

ALLISON DINNER/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock US actor Sheryl Lee Ralph speaks during a SAG-AFTRA rally at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California, USA, 13 September 2023. Both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are on strike fighting for better compensation, contracts, and protection against AIALLISON DINNER/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph was among the actors seen on the picket line during the strike

Although Hollywood's star actors earn millions of dollars, many lesser-known performers often struggle to get by, particularly amid rising inflation and industry changes.

The 118-day shutdown was the longest in the union's 90-year history.

The combination of the actors' and writers' strikes is estimated to have cost the California economy more than $6.5bn (£5.26m), according to trade publication Deadline.

In November, high-profile actors including Zac Efron, Jamie Lee Curtis and Octavia Spencer were among those welcoming the deal.