SAG-AFTRA union members have ratified a four-year agreement with studios and streaming services reached by union negotiators in early May.
91.42 percent of voters voted in favor of approving the contract, while 8.58 percent voted against. 19.25 percent of the organization's eligible members participated in the vote.
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SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin stated in his statement: "I am proud of SAG-AFTRA's members and the strength they continue to demonstrate as we move forward with a common goal. This agreement builds on the foundation our members have fought for and carries that work into the next chapter of our industry's evolution. It delivers significant pay improvements, strengthens protections against artificial intelligence and digital identity, enhances the long-term security of member benefits plans, and addresses the realities of performing artists today.".
«"Our members have always understood that protecting the future of this profession means preparing for change before it happens. This agreement reflects that commitment and the collective strength of our union," Astin concluded.
The vote ends a relatively quiet period of negotiations for the union, at least compared to the 2023 talks, when a group of union workers held a 118-day strike over concerns about generative artificial intelligence and pay in the age of streaming.
This time, SAG-AFTRA began negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), focusing on strengthening the language of artificial intelligence and increasing wages for its members. Meanwhile, studios and streaming services focused on reaching a longer-term agreement than the typical three-year contracts to ensure labor stability over the longer term.
The preliminary agreement reached on May 2nd gave both parties cause for celebration. AMPTP received a four-year contract, and SAG-AFTRA could boast of a long-awaited plan to merge the two SAG-AFTRA pension plans, which had remained separate since the Screen Actors Guild merged with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in 2012.
Regarding AI, the agreement obliges producers to use synthetic, AI-generated performers only if they bring "significant additional value" to the project. It sets a minimum payment rate, as well as royalties for the use of independently created digital copies (a hybrid representation combining both human performance and generative AI). Companies must also have a "comprehensible business reason" for scanning a performer to create a digital copy.
In terms of compensation, SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP agreed to a three-percent minimum wage increase each year of the agreement, as well as a one-percent increase in the health insurance premium rate, effective July 1. The parties agreed to recommend adjustments to the health insurance plan to account for healthcare inflation, including a one-time quarterly increase in premiums and a change in the eligibility threshold.
In the burgeoning microdrama space, both sides agreed that the union could begin negotiations on labor conditions if individual companies began producing these short projects "on a more experimental basis.".
In an interview THR , In a statement about the 2026 agreement, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland stated that the union leveraged the companies' interest in a longer agreement to address more pressing issues. "Clearly, the companies really wanted a longer term," Crabtree-Ireland said. "What could we have accomplished that we couldn't have accomplished by pursuing that idea? And that's how we ended up here.".
SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland led the negotiations on behalf of the union, and AMPTP President Greg Hessinger led the negotiations on behalf of the studios.
In a statement regarding the ratified agreement, the AMPTP stated: "SAG-AFTRA leadership has demonstrated a genuine commitment to partnership, and together with the agreement with the WGA, these deals demonstrate what can be achieved when the industry works toward practical solutions that support its long-term sustainability." The organization added: "We look forward to building on this success.".
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