SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has released the results of their recent vote to strike.
The results are in massive favour of the strike, with 96.52% of members voting in favour of the Interactive Media Agreement Strike Authorization Referendum. This new referendum grants the National Board the authority to declare a strike if and when it became necessary.
The referendum sprang out of the negotiations that have continued bubbling over since February of this year, when SAG-AFTRA’s Interactive Committee met with video game publishers to renegotiate a new agreement. They have been discussing with publishers such as EA, Activision, Warner Bros. and Disney over the treatment of video game voice artists.
SAG-AFTRA representatives have previously explained that the original agreement for these actors from the 1990s was still in place “despite radical changes in what we are required to do on set.” Ultimately, the union wants to strike in order to get conditions put in line with the type of work that performers are required to do today in comparison to what was required back then.
The proposed changes included a system akin to royalties, where voice actors should get extra payment based on the success of the title they perform in. They are asking for a “reasonable performance bonus for every 2 million copies sold, or 2 million unique subscribers to online-only games” up to a total cap of 8 million copies for the most successful titles.
Overall, SAG-AFTRA says its requirements for this new referendum are “not loaded with any crazy demands,” and believes that its desire for greater audition transparency along with stunt co-ordinators for mo-cap sessions and bonuses for ‘stressful’ sessions.
You can view their full list of proposals here.