Members of SAG-AFTRA, the Hollywood actors union, ratified a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major studios and streamers, the union said on Tuesday.
SAG-AFTRA members voted to ratify the contract with about 78% in favor. The union said about 38% of members turned out to vote.
The agreement expires on June 30, 2026.
“SAG-AFTRA members have remained incredibly engaged throughout this process, and I know they’ll continue their advocacy throughout our next negotiation cycle,” union president Fran Drescher said in a statement.
The ratified contract caps a monthslong saga, which included a nearly four-month strike that had paralyzed the industry and raised existential questions over the future of the entertainment business. Hollywood actors and producers reached the tentative deal on November 8, after tumultuous negotiations throughout the year. Eighty-six percent of the union’s national board had voted to approve the tentative agreement.
SAG’s roughly 160,000-member body spent about three weeks voting on whether to ratify the deal.
The union was optimistic about the tentative deal.
When the deal was struck, Drescher called it “historic,” and the studios said the agreement “represents a new paradigm” for Hollywood, TV and the actors.
The actors union strike ended on midnight after the deal was tentatively reached, tentatively concluding one of the most disruptive strikes in Hollywood’s history.
“The AMPTP is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement and looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories,” the studios said in a statement at the time.
The terms of the tentative deal did not come without controversy. Some union members criticized parts of the deal, particularly its AI protections. Some union members posted on social media with the hashtag #SAGAFTRAVOTENO, claiming there weren’t proficient protections against the emerging technology.
In contrast, 99% of the Writers Guild of America members voted to ratify their contract.
In a statement posted on the union’s site on Dec. 2, member Bryan Cranston said he was voting “yes” on the “hard-fought contract proposal.”
“No side will EVER get everything they wanted or hoped for. That is the plain truth of every labor dispute,” he wrote.
After Thanksgiving, the union released the full, 128-page contract for members to review.
SAG-AFTRA said the deal included groundbreaking raises, benefit increases and protections around artificial intelligence in a press conference on November 10.
The contract includes $1 billion in new wages and benefit plan funding and a participation bonus for actors on successful streaming shows. Drescher said the deal has a 7% raise in most minimum payments.
For the first time, the contract includes consent and compensation guardrails for artificial intelligence. Notably, the contract also protects background performers from any use of their digital replica without their consent, SAG leadership said.
The union said there will be appropriate hair and makeup services for all performers. There will also be requirements for intimacy coordinators for scenes requiring nudity or stimulated sex.
There will also be increased pension and health caps for the union’s benefit plan and funds.
It was a long road to reach a ratified contract.
After several fits and starts, the striking actors had resumed negotiations with producers on October 2 after a prolonged absence from the bargaining table. The announcement to restart talks came a day after leaders of the Writers Guild of America voted to authorize its members to return to work following their tentative agreement reached September 24 between union negotiators and Hollywood’s studios and streaming services.
But the actors’ contract negotiations didn’t last long, breaking down on October 11 before returning later in the month.
By the end of October, it appeared the actors’ strike was approaching its final scene. SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP had made significant progress in negotiating sessions, arriving at tentative understandings on key components of a potential deal, CNN reported.
In early November, the studios said they delivered the union their “last, best and final offer.” But the union said in a message to its members that there were several “essential items” that the two sides had yet to reach agreement on, such as the use of AI.
On Wednesday, November 8, the actors union announced they had reached a tentative agreement, allowing actors to soon return to work. AI protections were among the last topics to get resolved, reaching a resolution the night before the deal was announced.
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