SAG-AFTRA Reaches Tentative Agreement With Studios To End Strike

After months of picketing, SAG-AFTRA has reached a tentative deal to end the strike with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The strike is now slated to end at just after midnight Wednesday.

The union said in a statement that its TV/Theatrical Committee unanimously approved the tentative agreement. The deal must now be ratified by the union's members.

"We are thrilled and proud to tell you that today your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP," the union said in a statement posted on its website. "As of 12:01 a.m. on November 9, our strike is officially over and all picket locations are suspended. We will be in touch in the coming days with information about celebration gatherings around the country."

What we know so far about the deal

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

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.

The union said full details will be released after the agreement is reviewed by its national board on Friday.

As news of the deal emerged Wednesday, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher posted a statement on social media saying, "We did it!!!! The Billion+ $ Deal! 3X the last contract! New ground was broke everywhere!"

Union members and others react

Rati Gupta, a strike captain for Paramount, told LAist the news left her feeling optimistic.

“I know our negotiating committee has worked so hard to get us exactly what we need, and I have faith that they did that,” she said. “Like any good union member, I gotta look over the contract before I decide whether I vote to ratify or not. But we didn't sacrifice 118 days of labor, physical and emotional labor, to get nothing.”

The deal comes weeks after the agreement with the Writers Guild of America, which saw increases in residual payments for scribes, more transparency around streaming viewership and guardrails around artificial intelligence.

Actors had also been pushing for their own protections, such as use of digital replicas.

The Writers Guild of America, which reached an agreement with the AMPTP to end its strike in September, reacted on X (formerly Twitter) with a statement of congratulations.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement she was "grateful that a fair agreement has been reached."

"Those on the line have been the hardest hit during this period and there have been ripple effects throughout our entire city," she said. "Today’s tentative agreement is going to impact nearly every part of our economy. Now, we must lean in on local production to ensure that our entertainment industry rebounds stronger than ever and our economy is able to get back on its feet.”

Months of protests and picketing

During the months-long strike, actors picketed at studios across Los Angeles. In September, thousands of actors, writers and supporters marched from Netflix headquarters to the Paramount Studios lot.

At a rally following the march, Sheryl Lee Ralph, newly elected first vice president of SAG-AFTRA L.A., said the fight in Hollywood was inspiring other labor movements.

“So this isn’t just for us. This is for workers around the world,” Ralph exclaimed to a cheering crowd just outside the iconic Paramount lot gates.

Actors picketed alongside writers for months and the solidarity seems to have paid off, with writers picketing alongside actors even after the WGA deal was reached.

With actors now likely ending their work stoppage, Hollywood will be able to return to work in earnest, including thousands of below the line workers, like prop masters, set builders and costume makers who also suffered financially during the past several months.

Timeline: SAG-AFTRA strike

• May 17: SAG-AFTRA union leaders ask for and receive a strike authorization vote ahead of contract talks.
• June 7: SAG-AFTRA begins negotiations with the AMPTP; contract due to end June 30.
• June 30: Both sides agree to extend talks through July 12.
• July 12: Federal negotiator brought in.
• July 13: The national board of SAG-AFTRA authorizes its 160,000 members to go on strike.
• July 14: Picketing begins at 9 a.m. at major studios and streamer HQ’s across the city.
• Sept 24: WGA  reaches a tentative deal with studios and streamers.
• Sept 27: SAG-AFTRA announces that bargaining with the AMPTP will restart on Oct 2. 
• Oct 12: Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP break down. Actors union alleges studios using "bully tactics"
• Oct. 13: A coalition of Hollywood unions including the WGA call on studios to resume negotiations in good faith.
• Oct. 24: Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA negotiators and AMPTP resume
• Nov. 8: Tentative deal is reached

Makenna Sievertson contributed reporting.