SAG-AFTRA members ratified a four-year deal with the studios and streams that union negotiators reached in early May.
91.42 percent of voters voted to approve the contract, while 8.58 percent opposed it. 19.25 percent of eligible members participated in the vote.
“I’m proud of our SAG-AFTRA membership and the strength they continue to demonstrate when we move together for a common purpose,” SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said in a statement. “This agreement builds on the foundation members fought to establish and moves this work into the next chapter of our industry. It provides meaningful gains in compensation, strengthens protections around artificial intelligence and digital identity, enhances the long-term security of member benefits plans and recognizes the reality of how performers work today.”
“Our members have always understood that protecting the future of this profession means preparing for change before it happens. This agreement reflects that commitment and the collective strength of this association,” Astin concluded.
The vote concludes a relatively quiet period of negotiations for the union, at least compared to its 2023 talks, when the labor group launched a 118-day strike over concerns about artificial intelligence and compensation in the streaming era.
This time, SAG-AFTRA headed into discussions with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) focused on enhancing AI language and member pay. Meanwhile, studios and streamers have focused on securing a deal longer than the parties’ typical three-year deals in a bid to ensure business stability for longer.
The tentative agreement reached on May 2 gave both parties something to brag about. AMPTP secured its four-year contract, while SAG-AFTRA can boast a long-awaited plan to merge the two SAG-AFTRA pension plans, which have remained separate since the Screen Actors Guild merged with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in 2012.
When it comes to AI, the agreement obligates producers to use AI-generated performance tools only when they add “significant additional value” to the project. It sets a minimum payment rate plus residual amounts for the use of independently created digital replicas (hybrid performance incorporating both human acting and generative AI). Companies must also have a “clear business reason” to scan the performer for a digital replica.
On compensation issues, SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP set minimum wage increases of three percent for each year of the deal and a health plan contribution rate increase of one percent effective July 1. The parties agreed to recommend modifications to the health plan in recognition of Medicare inflation, including a one-time quarterly eligibility premium increase and changing the plan eligibility threshold.
In the booming space of small-scale dramas, the two sides agreed that the consortium could begin negotiating terms and conditions of employment if individual companies began producing these small-scale projects on “more than a trial basis.”
In an interview with THR Regarding the terms of the 2026 deal, SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the union has boosted companies’ interest in a longer deal to address more of their priorities. “It’s clear that companies really wanted longer term,” Crabtree-Ireland said. “What could we achieve that we wouldn’t have been able to achieve if we entertained the idea? And that’s how we ultimately ended up there.”
SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland led negotiations for the union, while AMPTP President Greg Hessinger chaired talks for the studios.
