SAG-AFTRA votes strike against video game companies
SAG-AFTRA is the US labour union that represents film and television actors, singers and other performers -- they have voted to go on strike against video game companies. AFP / VALERIE MACON

Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists nearly unanimously voted to conduct a potential strike against video game companies.

In a statement uploaded on the official SAG-AFTRA website, the guild announced that approximately 98.32 per cent of their membership are prepared to suspend work and negotiate favourable terms from the Interactive Media Agreement.

The statement coincides with an ongoing strike from SAG-AFTRA against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to negotiate a number of issues with their working conditions, gains and protections.

Renegotiation of the IMA

The guild notes in the statement that there won't be a strike yet and that the vote just acts as a safety precaution should terms during the IMA negotiation turn unfavourable. The vote allows SAG-AFTRA negotiators to authorise an immediate strike from its members as a bargaining tool once negotiations for the agreement are underway. Voting for the strike authorisation took place last September 5 and concluded September 25.

Among the issues raised by guilds are protections for their members that closely resemble their film and television counterparts. For favourable IMA terms, the agreement has to contain protections for union members from artificial intelligence replication when using their likenesses in video game productions.

Another term of interest for SAG-AFTRA negotiators is better wages which would compensate for increasing prices from inflation. Safer working conditions for both voice and performance artists are also being negotiated.

Negotiations for better terms go as far back as October 2022, which had undergone five rounds of bargaining. Around this time, SAG-AFTRA negotiators have been in talks with video game industry titans such as Activision Productions, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, EA Productions, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Epic Games, Take 2 Productions, VoiceWorks Productions and WB Games.

Some of these video game production arms were responsible for the performances found in widely acclaimed games like The Last of Us Part II, God of War: Ragnarok, Call of Duty, and Death Stranding. The deal is set to expire this November 2023

Under the potential strike, unionised actors under SAG-AFTRA will not accept contracts coming from video game companies that need their motion capture work or voice acting. Members will also picket with the help and coordination of the union's strike managers should the strike take place.

Sustaining momentum

The statement from SAG-AFTRA comes after the news that the Writers Guild of America and the AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement that would end the Hollywood writers' strike. Starting from May 2, 2023, members of both WGA East and WGA West organised pickets to negotiate better terms for their Minimum Basic Agreement.

Among them were better staffing conditions, protections from AI replacement, and better health care and pension options. The tentative agreement was formed on September 25, 2023, after five days of drafting the deal.

To show solidarity, members of the WGA also announced that they will only resume writing for productions once SAG-AFTRA reaches their desired deal with the AMPTP. It is not clear yet if the vote for immediate strike authorisation against video game companies will affect this declaration.

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