Voice actors vote overwhelmingly to approve a strike: 'It’s time for the videogame companies to stop playing games'
SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors, broadcast journalists, hosts, voice actors, and other media professionals in the US, has voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against videogame companies including Activision, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, and Take-Two Interactive. The vote does not mean that a strike will be called, but the union hopes it will provide «added leverage» in its negotiations for a new Interactive Media Agreement.
The terms of the current Interactive Media Agreement were reached in 2017 following a nearly year-long strike by voice actors. That deal was set to expire in 2020, but was eventually extended until November 2022.
Negotiations for an updated agreement have been underway since October 2022, but SAG-AFTRA said signatory game companies «have refused to offer acceptable terms on some of the issues most critical to our members, including wages that keep up with inflation, protections around exploitative uses of artificial intelligence, and basic safety precautions.»
The list of signatory game companies includes:
«It’s time for the videogame companies to stop playing games and get serious about reaching an agreement on this contract,» SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said. «The result of this vote shows our membership understands the existential nature of these negotiations, and that the time is now for these companies—which are making billions of dollars and paying their CEOs lavishly—to give our performers an agreement that keeps performing in videogames as a viable career.»
SAG-AFTRA also represents actors who have been on strike since July, but the Interactive Media Agreement negotiations are separate from that. Many of the issues being negotiated are similar, however.
«Between the
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