LA Actors Celebrate SAG-AFTRA’s Tentative Agreement

SAG-AFTRA members put down the picket signs after one of the longest strikes in the union’s history came to a close.

Although the details of the tentative agreement for their new contract with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers hasn't been shared publicly, some L.A. area actors are celebrating the news and the solidarity shown over the past 118 days.

Keri Safran is an actor, dialect coach, and SAG-AFTRA strike captain at Paramount Studios. She told LAist that while the labor dispute isn’t officially over until the agreement is ratified by the union members, she has faith in the negotiating committee.

“They really were prepared to die on the hill of AI protection,” Safran said. “So if they are happy, I trust that we will be happy.”

Safran added that she found a beautiful, fun community out on the picket lines. She said the tentative agreement means there will still be human actors on set, who need other human beings to do their make-up, to build props, to record sound, and to make the magic happen.

Keri Safran working as a strike captain for Paramount Studios while Duncan Crabtree Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's chief negotiator, speaks to the crowd.

(

Mario Tama/Getty Images

/

Getty Images North America

)

“I think I'm still in the immediate place of being grateful that, at least for the moment, we have protected the livelihoods of so many people,” she said.

Kirsten Vangsness is a playwright and actor, best known for portraying Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds. She said it’s a bizarre feeling knowing the strike is behind them, but she is incredibly proud of the union for sticking together.

Vangsness said there’d been a lot of pressure on the negotiating committee to reach a deal and get Hollywood back to business, but many actors haven’t made a living wage in years.

“There was no choice but for us to hold the line,” Vangsness said. “Because if we wouldn't, acting would just become a hobby for very few.”

With the strike lifted, she said studios want productions up and running as fast as possible. Vangsness is looking to get back to work in the new year, but she said now she’s just hoping that all of the strike captains are hired by every casting director in town.

What the union has said about terms

According to the union's statement the tentative agreement — "valued at over one billion dollars" — includes:

• Compensation increases
• Terms that have "unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI"
• A bonus for streaming
• Increases in pension and health care caps
• Raises for background performers
• Provisions to protect diverse communities

AMPTP calls deal "a new paradigm"

The AMPTP confirmed those details in a statement released Wednesday night, calling the tentative agreement "a new paradigm."

"It gives SAG-AFTRA the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union, including the largest increase in minimum wages in the last forty years; a brand new residual for streaming programs; extensive consent and compensation protections in the use of artificial intelligence; and sizable contract increases on items across the board,” the association said.

Getting back to work

Brendan Bradley, actor and strike captain at Paramount Studios, said he can start promoting two of his projects immediately. He said the economic gears are slowly starting to spin again, and he’s hopeful he can get back on set this month.

Bradley said acting has always been such an individualized career — you either got the part or someone else did. But he said standing on the picket lines, surrounded by other entertainment unions, brought everyone together for the love of the industry and the community.

Sol Crespo, an actor and strike captain, is also expecting to start working again after the holidays. But, she thinks the healing process is going to take a lot longer.

Crespo said she feels like a weight has been lifted, but she also feels a little bit of grief.

While she is so proud of the union for staying together, she said the reality is that some colleagues couldn’t afford to stick out the strike and have been forced to leave the industry altogether.

Crespo also said the relationship between actors and CEOs has been eroded after 118 days on opposite ends of the picket lines, and both sides need to be prepared to build it back up. With that being said, Crepso is excited for the future.

“It feels like something has shifted,” she said. “It feels that moving forward, we are sending a clear message that you cannot trample on us, that you cannot take us for granted. That might have been what happened in the past, but no more.”