SAG-AFTRA Ratifies Pact With Studios With 78% of Vote

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland at a press conference announcing a tentative contract deal with producers.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland at a Nov. 10 press conference announcing the tentative contract deal with producers that has now been officially ratified.. (Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

SAG-AFTRA union members officially ratified the agreement that ended the strike against the studios.

The vote was 78.3% to approve the pact versus 21.7% opposed. SAG-AFTRA said 38.15% of members participated in the national vote.

“I’m proud of our SAG-AFTRA membership,” said union president Fran Drescher. “They struck for 118 days to grant the TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee the necessary leverage to secure over $1 billion in gains, along with the union’s first-ever protections around AI technology. Now they’ve locked in the gains by ratifying the contract.”

The new agreement gives actors new compensation and benefits, with an “outsized” gain in residuals and a new model for compensation in streaming content. 

The deal also creates guardrails for informed consent and compensation for the use of artificial intelligence.

“The AMPTP member companies congratulate SAG-AFTRA on the ratification of its new contract, which represents historic gains and protections for performers. With this vote, the industry and the jobs it supports will be able to return in full force," the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers said in a statement.

The agreement is effective retroactive to November 8 and expires June 30, 2026.

Drescher looked ahead to the next negotiations with the studios.

“AFTRA members have remained incredibly engaged throughout this process, and I know they’ll continue their advocacy throughout our next negotiation cycle,” she said. “This is a golden age for SAG-AFTRA, and our union has never been more powerful.”

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.