Actors’ union hails ‘extraordinary scope’ of deal with Hollywood studios

The AMPTP said the deal gives the union the ‘largest increase in minimum wages in the last 40 years’.

Sag-Aftra chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, left, rallies striking actors in outside Paramount Pictures studio (Chris Pizzello/AP) (AP)

US actors’ union Sag-Aftra said it has achieved a deal of “extraordinary scope” with Hollywood studio bosses which will be worth more than one billion dollars.

It comes after the union reached a “tentative agreement” with the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers (AMPTP) in a unanimous vote, marking an end to the historic 118-day walkout.

It said the strike, which has caused major disruption to Hollywood productions since it began on July 14, will officially end on Thursday.

Full details of the deal will not be announced until the tentative agreement is reviewed by the Sag-Aftra national board on Friday.

However, a statement from the union said it has achieved a deal of “extraordinary scope” in a contract “valued at over one billion dollars”, including protection from the threat of artificial intelligence and “unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation”.

It continued: “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.”

Meanwhile, the AMPTP said the tentative agreement “represents a new paradigm”.

It said: “It 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 40 years; a brand new residual for streaming programmes; extensive consent and compensation protections in the use of artificial intelligence; and sizeable contract increases on items across the board.

“The AMPTP is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement and looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories.”

The deal comes after the union, which represents around 160,000 members of the industry, spent days deliberating over several items it deemed “essential”, including artificial intelligence.

Hollywood has been at a near-standstill for months following both the actors and writers strikes.

In September the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents more than 11,000 members, agreed to a deal with studio bosses after 146 days on the picket line over issues of pay and the threat of artificial intelligence.

Sag-Aftra added: “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.”