SAG-AFTRA, the labor union representing voice actors and performers in the game industry, voted unanimously to send a strike authorization vote to its members, who have until September 25 to decide whether or not to strike. SAG-AFTRA has been negotiating to renew its contract with game industry companies for about a year with no conclusion.
SAG-AFTRA’s ‘Interactive Media (Video Games) Agreement,’ gives SAG-AFTRA the right, upon its members’ consenting vote, to authorize a strike while renegotiating its members’ contracts with the signatory game companies: Activision, EA, Epic Games, WB Games, and Insomniac Games. The union wants to ensure fair compensation, better working conditions, a wage increase, equal rest periods for performers, licensed medics during hazardous stunt work, and protection against AI threats to jobs, including unfair image and voice use, and loss of performers’ self-determination.
SAG-AFTRA has criticized both employer greed and the negative impact of AI on members’ livelihoods. The union wants to update its contract to include language that protects performance-captured artists from unauthorized use of their digital replicas and ensures appropriate payment for the use of members’ performances in training AI systems.
A strike authorization vote does not immediately lead to a strike, but it gives the National Board the ability to declare a strike if negotiations with video game companies are deemed to be conducted in bad faith. The companies negotiating with SAG-AFTRA hope to reach a mutually beneficial agreement in a timely manner, acknowledging the important contributions of SAG-AFTRA-represented performers in the game industry.
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