Following approval from its national board, SAG-AFTRA has released the details of its tentative bargaining agreement with Hollywood studios and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which like the one ratified by the Writers Guild of America will last four years instead of the usual three.
As part of the agreement, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP have agreed to merge the SAG-Producers Pension Plan and AFTRA Retirement Fund into a single merged plan with an additional 1% to the studio contribution rate. The merge is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
On the AI front, the union touted new and expanded guardrails regarding “synthetic performers,” the term used for performers created completely from generative AI that are not replicas of a specific performer, including:
- An agreement to a principle strongly favoring human performances.
- Producers do not intend to use a synthetic in a human role that would otherwise be performed by a human unless the synthetic brings “significant additional value” to the motion picture.
- Performers’ digital replicas are now protected from crossing a picket line during a strike.
- Protections for minors on the use of their digital replica.
- Producers must have an articulable business reason to scan someone for a digital replica
“This contract is a testament to the incredible unity and determination of our members, and I am proud to deliver an agreement that results in meaningful gains across the board, from benefit plans to artificial intelligence to residuals, and beyond,” national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement.
SAG-AFTRA was the first union to begin negotiations back in February, and held talks with the AMPTP for five weeks before pausing to allow the studios to begin their talks with the Writers Guild. The two sides returned to the negotiating table on April 27 and announced their tentative deal on May 2.
