SAG-AFTRA Is Looking to Get Authorization for a Second Strike Against Video Game Companies

ign.com:

While SAG-AFTRA and its actors already have one strike underway against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), it is now seeking a second strike that would go against major video game companies for how they treat their performers.

As reported by Variety, SAG-AFTRA has said the negotiations toward a new video game contract have reached a "stalemate" and that a strike would be the next best step to "win wage increases and protection from artificial intelligence."

SAG-AFTRA's current contract with companies like Activision Productions, Electronic Arts Productions, Insomniac Games, Epic Games, WB Games, and more was set to expire on November 7, 2022, but the two parties agreed to extend the talks another year. As of this writing, the talks between the two parties will resume on September 26.

SAG-AFTRA is looking for "an 11% retroactive increase in rates for video game performers, followed by increases of 4% and 4%." This is in line with the asks SAG-AFTRA has given the AMPTP. It also includes the previously mentioned protections from AI which the union says threatens both voice and performance capture artists. Furthermore, SAG-AFTRA wants rest periods, safety protections, an on-set medic, and a "prohibition against stunts during self-taped auditions."

"Once again artificial intelligence is putting our members in jeopardy of reducing their opportunity to work. And once again, SAG-AFTRA is standing up to tyranny on behalf of its members,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said after calling out the gaming companies for their "greed and disrespect."

Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the gaming companies, released a statement saying they want a fair contract as well.

"We all want a fair contract that