SAG-AFTRA members approve commercial contracts –

After a period of several weeks of voting, SAG-AFTRA members opted to ratify the three-year contracts over the union’s advertising contracts.

As a result of the vote, 92.25 percent of members voted “yes” to the proposed agreement, which was reached on April 5 with the Joint Policy Committee, representing the advertising industry, the union announced on Thursday. (The union did not immediately provide information on how many percent declined to vote or vote, but said “voice instruction cards” were sent to 133,000 members.) Mail and online voting was verified. By Integrity Voting Systems.

Ahead of the voting period, which ended on Thursday, the union’s national council approved the proposed agreement and recommended that members vote “yes” to the agreement. Members voted on contracts from April 15 to May 5.

Once the agreement is ratified, the conditions of the employment contracts will come into effect within 30 days from May 5, the rate increase will begin retroactively until April 1 of the same date, and its structure will take effect on June 1. .

“We did it,” Fran Drescher, the union’s president, said in a statement. He added: “As we move into the digital age, bold steps and structural changes must be taken. Our amazing negotiating committee listened to what members needed and provided new contracts with more streaming money, more health insurance contributions, restrictions on self-portraits, equal hair and makeup, privacy, and more. “These contracts form the foundation on which we will build a new future.”

The union estimates the profit from the contract at $120 million over three years, which is about three times the estimated profit in the 2019 versions. Health care payout rates rose from 0.75% to 1.4%, according to the person who signed the agreement, a mixed increase of 1.01%.

One of the main changes agreed by both parties in 2022 was to change the structure of contracts so that many projects that paid artists per use (such as network television with each ad aired) switch to a flat rate per cycle so that they pay the advertisers. . . For the period in which they use advertising. The union argues that this change will make life easier for advertisers and strengthen members’ ability to ensure their payments are correct. The contracts also create a new higher-paying category for over-the-top (OTT) media services such as the ad-supported version of Hulu, distinguishing them from lower-paying media for online platforms like YouTube and ads. Spanish ads, which used to offer artists lower prices, will now pay the same fees as English ads, although there is still a separate fee for using the broadcast network.

Among the many work-related contract changes is a new self-recording policy (a practice that has increased during a pandemic), which prohibits repeated self-portraits, requires special equipment, or uses multiple locations in an audition. Contracts formally prohibit nudity at any hearing, and employers must notify contractors in advance of partial or full nudity required by the job. Hairdressers and makeup artists must also have experience working with different artists to be considered “qualified” under new contracts.

In this round, the union committed and agreed to 5% lower tariffs in Class A (transmission network launch), a structure that still uses single-use tariffs. Those accounts now total $20,000 for a 13-week cycle (the union was negotiating a “mitigation fund” to help artists who may be financially vulnerable due to the new language).

It took nearly eight weeks to negotiate a possible deal after negotiations began in New York on February 15, a process that union president Fran Drescher described in an April statement as “stressful” and took many hours.

SAG-AFTRA National General Manager and Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and Contracts Director and Chief Negotiator Ray Rodriguez led negotiations on the union side, while Reed Smith partner Stacey Marcus led negotiations for the Joint Policy Committee.

“This bold new agreement reflects SAG-AFTRA’s multi-year focus on major changes in the advertising industry and the growth of digital and broadcast platforms,” ​​Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement. “We change over time and make our arrangements to ensure our members benefit from the long-term evolution of the industry.”