Overview
- SAG‑AFTRA members approved the four‑year contract on Friday with 91.42% of ballots in favor and about 19.25% turnout, and the deal takes effect July 1, 2026 and runs through June 30, 2030.
- The agreement bars producers from using synthetic performers unless those AI creations bring “significant additional value” over a live actor or a digital replica, defining synthetic as AI‑generated performers not tied to a consenting union actor.
- If studios and the union cannot agree on a producer’s planned use of a synthetic, SAG‑AFTRA may seek binding arbitration and damages that are not limited to the pay a live performer would have received.
- The pact establishes a path to merge the SAG‑Producers Pension Plan and the AFTRA Retirement Fund with a 1% employer contribution increase and a target completion date of January 1, 2028.
- The contract also locks in 3% annual minimum wage increases, a 1% rise in health‑plan contributions starting July 1, expands streaming residual payouts for high‑viewed titles, and leaves some members concerned about the pension consolidation and limits on striking over synthetic use before 2030.