Hollywood actors strike is over as union reaches tentative deal with studios

Hollywood's actors union has reached a tentative deal with studios to end its strike

Hollywood’s actors union reached a tentative deal with studios Wednesday to end its strike, bringing an end to months of labor strife that ground the entertainment industry to a historic halt.

The three-year contract agreement must be approved by votes from the union’s board and its members in the coming days, but the leadership declared the strike will end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.

More than 60,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Performers went on strike July 14, joining screenwriters who had walked off the job more than two months earlier. It was the first time the two unions had been on strike together since 1960. Studios chose to negotiate with the writers first, striking a deal that their leadership marked as a major win and bringing their strike to an end on Sept. 26.

The details of the agreement were not immediately released, but are likely to be shared with the actors and the public in the coming days. Issues on the table included both short-term compensation and future royalty payments for film and TV performances, along with control over actors’ images and likenesses regenerated with artificial intelligence.