The 2023 actors strike is over
Negotiators from SAG-AFTRA have come to a tentative agreement with studios and producers after more than three months
Updated: November 9, 2024.
It’s taken more than three months, but the actors’ strike has finally come to an end, with SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP closing in on an agreement on terms for a new contract. SAG-AFTRA announced the tentative agreement, meaning that the strike came to a conclusion 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
About the provisional agreement, the union has shared, "In a contract valued at over one billion dollars, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes "above-pattern" minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus. Our Pension & Health caps have been substantially raised, which will bring much needed value to our plans. In addition, the deal includes numerous improvements for multiple categories including outsize compensation increases for background performers, and critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities."
The strike officially started on July 14, effectively bringing film and television production in the U.S. to a halt — as well as putting a hold on promotional appearances by actors for any project covered by the struck work clause, which includes basically every major studio project in the U.S. This meant that the big pop culture conventions of the year, including both San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic Con, were devoid of their traditional star-studded film and TV panels for the past few months.
Negotiations between the two parties had stalled for much of the strike, which passed the 100 day mark on October 21, just recommencing in the back half of October. There had initially been hope that both parties would come to an agreement before the end of October, but use of AI remained a sticking point, pushing talks into November before a deal was tentatively agreed.
As with the end of the writers strike in September, the end of the strike does not actually mean that the new agreement has been accepted by SAG-AFTRA members. Instead, the deal made by negotiators now has to be voted upon by members of the guild, which has to approve the new contract before it can be put in place.
At 118 days, the 2023 actors strike beats the 95-day record of the 1980 actors strike, but falls far short of the 182 day strike by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists against the American Association of Advertising Agencies.
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