SAG-AFTRA members vote to ratify the deal with Netflix –

SAG-AFTRA members voted Sign up for the latest freelance deal with Netflix.

After the voting period ended on Aug. 31, 89.03% of votes were in favor of the new contract, the union said on Wednesday. SAG-AFTRA and the broadcaster reached an interim agreement in early August, and the union’s National Council approved it days later, recommending that union members vote “yes”.

“The profit obtained in this contract is historic. A leverage convergence emerged. Now was the time to strike while the iron is hot, or we will forever pursue the rebuilding of the contract that is always within our grasp. The achievements in reducing exclusivity are significant. A traveling actor now has the freedom to work multiple jobs and live with fewer restrictions. Our negotiation committee, team, board and membership came together in perfect harmony. We have now entered a new chapter that levels the playing field and gives actors the respect and dignity they deserve,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher.

The agreement, which according to SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, contains “real changes and significant gains”, changes the language of the exclusivity of artists, giving members who regularly work on series more freedom to work on multiple shows per year. Like the union’s recent agreement with the Hollywood studios’ union, the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP), the agreement establishes the so-called “money break” (the threshold above which actors and/or their agents must negotiate freely contracts with producers). The deal raised Netflix’s cash discount to $65,000 per episode or week for a half-hour television episode and $70,000 per episode or week for one-hour episodes, up from the previous standard of $40,000. The contract also requires union members to be allowed to work a “second spot” as regulars on a television series or present a miniseries in the same year they work as regulars on another show. Artists can also play as many guest star roles as they want that year, depending on the contract.

The agreement further provides for a “Supporting Actor Zone” – an area where supporting actors can be called to work and beyond which they can be compensated for transportation and/or travel – in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and designates the holiday. June as a working period. holiday. In the alleged deal, the stunt coordinators also gained fixed residual rights to the big-budget projects produced under the Netflix contract that continue to stream on the platform. The deal included both Spanish and English dubbing coverage, and the minimum guaranteed dubbing session was increased from two hours to three hours. The deal required Netflix and SAG-AFTRA to collaborate on a series of workshops aimed at bringing more people from underrepresented groups into live streaming, among other changes.

This latest deal is the successor to SAG-AFTRA’s 2019 deal with Netflix, which covers live-action scripted projects as well as performance capture and dubbing. SAG-AFTRA plans to negotiate a new master agreement with AMPTP next year, and the terms of that agreement, such as salary changes, will also apply to Netflix projects.