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SAG-AFTRA

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SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) is an American labor union representing performers in film, scripted television, streaming, video games, commercials, and broadcasting. It was formed on March 30, 2012 by the merger of the Screen Actors Guild, founded on July 12, 1933, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, whose predecessor the American Federation of Radio Artists was formed on August 16, 1937 [18][24][25]. The union represents roughly 160,000 media professionals and negotiates most of its film and television terms with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the trade association that bargains on behalf of the major studios [4].

Two strikes made the union a central actor in how generative AI is applied to human performances: one against film and television studios in 2023, and one against video game companies from 2024 to 2025. Both were settled with contract language that conditions the scanning, cloning, and simulation of performers on written consent, itemized compensation, and advance notice to the union [2][7]. Because the major film and television studios bargain with SAG-AFTRA through the AMPTP, those clauses reach a large share of United States screen production [4].

The union's contracts do not prohibit artificial intelligence. They price it, gate it behind consent, and give the union notice and bargaining rights when a machine-generated asset stands in for a person. Legal commentators reviewing the video game settlement described it as a turning point that left performers with enforceable rights over digital replicas of their recorded work [17].

Structure and leadership

SAG-AFTRA is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in New York and elsewhere in the United States, and it is affiliated with the AFL-CIO and the International Federation of Actors [18]. Its membership spans actors, stunt performers, dancers, singers, puppeteers, broadcast journalists, announcers, and voice-over artists [18].

Fran Drescher served as national president through the 2023 and 2024 strikes. In balloting that closed on September 12, 2025, Sean Astin was elected as her successor with about 79 percent of the votes received, defeating New England local board member Chuck Slavin [19]. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has been the union's national executive director and chief negotiator, and he led the bargaining table in both strikes [18].

The 2023 television and theatrical strike

The 2020 SAG-AFTRA television and theatrical contracts were due to expire on June 30, 2023. On June 5, 2023, members approved a strike authorization by roughly a 98 percent margin, with the union citing residuals, employment terms, self-taped auditions, and the regulation of artificial intelligence among the open issues [4]. Talks with the AMPTP failed, and the strike began on July 14, 2023, the first time since 1960 that American screen actors and writers had walked out simultaneously [4].

AI surfaced as a public flashpoint immediately. At the July 13 press conference announcing the walkout, Crabtree-Ireland said the studios had proposed scanning background actors, paying them for a single day, and retaining rights to reuse the resulting likeness indefinitely, including through generative systems. The AMPTP disputed that characterization, saying its proposal limited replica use to the picture the performer was hired for and required consent and further payment for anything beyond it [4].

A tentative agreement was reached on November 8, 2023, and the strike was suspended at 12:01 a.m. on November 9. The union's national board approved the deal by an 86 percent majority, and members ratified it on December 5, 2023 by 78.33 percent to 21.67 percent on a 38.15 percent turnout [4][6]. The successor agreements ran from November 9, 2023 through June 30, 2026, with minimums rising 7 percent immediately, another 4 percent on July 1, 2024, and another 3.5 percent on July 1, 2025, compounded [2].

AI terms in the 2023 contract

The AI provisions took effect 90 days after the AMPTP received notice of ratification, with producers asked to comply earlier where practicable [2]. The contract created four separate categories, each with its own consent and payment rules.

CategoryDefinition in the agreementCore obligation
Employment-Based Digital ReplicaA replica of a performer's voice or likeness created in connection with employment on a covered picture, using digital technology, with the performer's physical participation, to portray them in material they did not actually perform48-hour advance notice, separately signed consent, and, on a day the performer does not otherwise work, one day at the performer's pro rata daily salary with the day performer minimum as a floor, subject to limited exceptions [2]
Independently Created Digital ReplicaAn asset that creates the clear impression of an identifiable natural performer playing a character, where no employment arrangement exists with that performer for the pictureConsent and bargaining before use, plus pension and health contributions [2]
Synthetic PerformerA digitally-created asset intended to read as a natural performer who is not recognizable as any identifiable person, not voiced by a natural person, and not a digital replicaNotice to the union and an opportunity to bargain over consideration when used in place of a performer who would otherwise have been engaged in a human role [2]
Digital AlterationChanging a performer's previously recorded photography or sound trackConsent with a reasonably specific description, unless the material remains substantially as scripted and performed [2]

For use of an employment-based replica inside the picture the performer worked on, consent must be clear and conspicuous, must carry a reasonably specific description of the intended use, and compensation is set at the performer's pro rata daily rate or the applicable minimum for the number of production days the producer estimates the performer would have worked had they played the scenes in person. The producer must make a good faith effort to estimate that figure using objective criteria, and residuals follow if the replica remains in the picture [2]. Using a replica outside the picture it was made for requires fresh consent at the time of use plus separate bargaining, with the day performer rate as a floor [2].

Consent granted during a performer's lifetime continues after death unless it was explicitly limited, and where consent is required for a deceased performer it may be given by an authorized representative or, if none can be found, by the union itself [2]. Independently created replicas carry an exception for uses protected by the First Amendment, including comment, criticism, scholarship, satire, parody, docudrama, and biographical work [2].

The synthetic performer clause did not ban synthetic characters. It required the producer to notify the union and bargain in good faith over appropriate consideration, if any, and it excluded non-human characters entirely; claims were arbitrable with remedies limited to money [2]. A separate provision required producer consent and bargaining with a named performer if a generative system was prompted with that performer's name and a principal facial feature, such as the eyes, nose, ears, or mouth, in a way that made the feature recognizable [2]. Background actors received their own parallel regime, including a rule that digital replication may not be used in lieu of hiring the background actors needed to fulfill the applicable coverage maximums for a scene, nor to circumvent engaging the background actor whose replica is used [2]. Each producer also agreed to meet with the union at least twice a year, under confidentiality, to review its use and intended use of generative systems in development and production, discussions that may cover efforts to mitigate bias [2].

The 2024-2025 video game strike

The Interactive Media Agreement, which covers video game voice and motion capture work, expired in November 2022 and was extended month to month while talks dragged on [5]. Members authorized a strike on September 25, 2023 with 98.32 percent in favor [5], and the walkout began at 12:01 a.m. on July 26, 2024 against ten signatory companies: Activision Productions, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts Productions, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Llama Productions (a subsidiary of Epic Games), Take 2 Productions, VoiceWorks Productions, and WB Games [23].

AI was the defining issue. Performers objected to companies training systems on their union-covered recordings and generating new lines or likenesses without consent or further pay [5]. The most visible flashpoint came in May 2025, when Epic Games added a conversational Darth Vader chatbot to Fortnite that reproduced James Earl Jones's voice using Gemini 2.0 Flash for dialogue and ElevenLabs Flash v2.5 for speech [10]. Jones's estate had granted permission, but SAG-AFTRA filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against Llama Productions, arguing the company had made a unilateral change to bargaining unit work without notice or an opportunity to negotiate [10].

A tentative agreement was reached on June 9, 2025 and the strike was suspended on June 11. Members ratified the contract on July 9, 2025 by 95.04 percent to 4.96 percent, ending a walkout that had lasted nearly a year [5][9].

AI terms in the 2025 Interactive Media Agreement

The ratified agreement runs from November 8, 2022 through October 31, 2028 and raises minimum scale rates by 15.17 percent on ratification, followed by 3 percent increases on November 1 of 2025, 2026, and 2027 [7]. Health and retirement contributions rose to 17 percent on ratification and to 17.5 percent after October 31, 2026 [8].

Its AI structure resembles the film and television deal but is adapted to game production. Consent must be separate, written, and specific, and for most uses employers cannot capture blanket consent at initial hiring to cover future titles; they have to come back and negotiate later [7]. The required description of intended use extends to whether the replica will be driven by real-time generation, which matters for AI-driven non-player characters, and to handling of sensitive content [7]. Compensation for vocal replicas is calculated against generated lines, with a line defined as roughly ten words, and employers must file usage reports within 90 days of a game's release identifying which characters used replicas and how compensation was computed [7]. The union also secured the right for performers to suspend consent for digital replicas during a strike [17].

Licensing deals with AI voice companies

Alongside the strikes, SAG-AFTRA has signed opt-in agreements with voice AI vendors that set terms for consented voice cloning rather than barring it. In January 2024 it announced terms with Replica Studios covering voice model replicas in games, with consent required for each new project, secure storage of the models, time limits on use without further payment, and transparency about where a replica is deployed [5]. In October 2024, during the strike, it signed with Ethovox to build a foundational voice model whose contributing performers receive session fees and continuing revenue sharing [5]. In November 2024 it introduced an Independent Interactive Localization Agreement letting developers outside the United States hire union performers for localization work [5].

The 2026 successor contract

Negotiations on a successor to the 2023 television and theatrical contracts began on February 9, 2026, recessed on March 15, resumed on April 27, and concluded on May 2, 2026 [3][16]. The memorandum of agreement was executed on May 27, 2026, and members ratified it in early June by 91.42 percent to 8.58 percent on a 19.25 percent turnout [1][13][14]. The new term runs from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2030, with minimums rising 3 percent on each July 1 from 2026 through 2029, compounded [1][15].

The most substantive changes are in the synthetic performer language. Where the 2023 contract required only notice and bargaining, the 2026 agreement adds a stated principle strongly favoring human performances, records that human performers will continue to perform covered services, and states that a producer does not intend to use a synthetic in a human role that would otherwise be performed by a human except where the producer reasonably concludes that the synthetic brings significant additional value to the picture [1]. When a producer does intend such a use, it must give the union prior written notice, meet to bargain within ten business days, and if no agreement is reached within fifteen business days of the start of bargaining (and in no event later than twenty business days after the notice), the union may arbitrate the amount of remuneration owed. Any remuneration, bargained or awarded, is paid into the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan or the applicable pension or retirement plan at the union's election rather than to an individual [1]. This paragraph is time-limited: it expires on June 30, 2030, at which point the 2023 formulation returns [1].

Two additions extend the union's reach into training data. If a producer grants a paid license over covered performances to a non-affiliated third party for the purpose of training a public-facing commercially available generative system, it must notify the union in writing and, on request, meet to discuss the license including remuneration [1]. The semi-annual generative AI review meetings were also broadened to cover technology and performer collaboration for tracking and monitoring unauthorized performances generated with such systems [1]. Separately, the AMPTP agreed to circulate a bulletin to producers affirming their intention to continue employing human stunt performers and puppeteers [1].

Legislation and public positions

The union has pushed the same consent-and-compensation model into statute. On September 17, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two SAG-AFTRA-backed bills at the union's headquarters [5]. AB 2602 added Labor Code section 927, making unenforceable a contract term permitting a digital replica to replace a person's in-person work where the term lacks a reasonably specific description of intended uses and the individual was not represented by counsel or by a union whose collective bargaining agreement covers digital replicas; it applies to performances fixed on or after January 1, 2025 [11]. AB 1836 amended Civil Code section 3344.1 to create liability for producing or distributing a digital replica of a deceased personality's voice or likeness in an expressive audiovisual work or sound recording without consent, with damages of the greater of $10,000 or actual damages, subject to exceptions for news, comment, criticism, scholarship, satire, parody, documentary and biographical work, and fleeting or incidental use [12].

At the federal level, SAG-AFTRA has campaigned for the NO FAKES Act, a bipartisan bill that would give every individual, public figure or not, control over how their name, voice, and likeness are used and establish a federal cause of action against unauthorized deepfake and generative reproductions [21]. An open letter organized by the union drew more than 16,000 signatures by June 16, 2026, alongside organizational support from the AFL-CIO, the Motion Picture Association, the Recording Academy, the National Association of Broadcasters, YouTube, IBM, and OpenAI. Astin said "Unchecked AI can ruin lives," and Crabtree-Ireland described the bill's cross-sector backing as unusual [21]. The Senate Judiciary Committee cleared the bill unanimously by voice vote on June 18, 2026. The version reported out sets notice and takedown obligations for online services, adds a counter-notice process for material removed improperly, protects First Amendment uses such as news reporting and parody, lets platforms avoid liability when they promptly remove unauthorized deepfakes, and creates a right that can be transferred and licensed to heirs and executors after death, terminating no later than 70 years after the individual's death [22].

The union has also intervened in individual controversies. On September 30, 2025 it responded to Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated character promoted by Particle6 founder Eline Van der Velden and its talent venture Xicoia, stating that the character "is not an actor" and that it was produced by a program trained on the work of professional performers without permission or compensation. The statement warned signatory producers that they may not use synthetic performers without complying with the union's contractual obligations [20].

Criticism and limits

The agreements regulate rather than forbid. A studio that follows the notice, consent, and payment steps may lawfully replace a human role with a synthetic asset, and the contractual remedy for a violation of the synthetic performer clause is arbitration limited to monetary damages [1][2]. The 2026 standard turns on whether a producer "reasonably concludes" that a synthetic brings "significant additional value," a phrase the memorandum of agreement does not define, leaving the threshold to be worked out through bargaining and arbitration [1]. The strengthened language also sunsets in 2030 by its own terms [1].

Coverage is the other limit. The rules bind signatory productions only, so non-union work, offshore recording, and companies outside the bargaining group sit outside them. During the video game strike, performers on HoYoverse titles including Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero conducted an independent work refusal seeking a union agreement. HoYoverse was not on the union's list of struck signatories and did not sign a contract; from March 2025 it recast English-language roles instead [5]. Some performers argued publicly that the length of the strike pushed work to non-U.S. talent [5]. Participation rates have been modest as well: the 2023 ratification drew 38.15 percent of eligible members and the 2026 vote 19.25 percent [6][13].

See also

References

  1. ^Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, "2026 Memorandum of Agreement Between the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers," fully executed May 27, 2026 (PDF). amptp.org/...t%20FULLY%20EXECUTED%202026-05-27.pdf
  2. ^SAG-AFTRA, "TV/Theatrical Contracts 2023: Summary of Tentative Agreement," November 16, 2023 (PDF, mirrored copy). res.cloudinary.com/...y_Of_Tentative_Agreement.pdf
  3. ^Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, "SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP Reach Tentative Agreement on Successor to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Contracts," May 2, 2026. amptp.org/...023-sag-aftra-tv-theatrical-contracts
  4. ^Wikipedia, "2023 SAG-AFTRA strike." en.wikipedia.org/...2023_SAG-AFTRA_strike
  5. ^Wikipedia, "2024-2025 SAG-AFTRA video game strike." en.wikipedia.org/...25_SAG-AFTRA_video_game_strike
  6. ^Tell-Tale TV, "SAG-AFTRA Members Approve 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts Tentative Agreement," December 5, 2023. telltaletv.com/...al-contracts-tentative-agreement
  7. ^Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, "Inside the New SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media Agreement: New Standards for AI and Digital Replicas." technologylaw.fkks.com/...-standards-for-ai-and-di
  8. ^Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, "New SAG-AFTRA 2025 Interactive Media Agreement Approved by Members." ipandmedialaw.fkks.com/...ment-approved-by-members
  9. ^Game Developer, "SAG-AFTRA members ratify new interactive media contract," July 10, 2025. gamedeveloper.com/...act-conclude-year-long-strike
  10. ^Game Developer, "Voice actor union strikes back after Fortnite debuts controversial AI-powered Darth Vader," May 20, 2025. gamedeveloper.com/...ersial-ai-powered-darth-vader
  11. ^California Legislative Information, Assembly Bill 2602 (2023-2024), adding Labor Code section 927. leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/...billTextClient.xhtml
  12. ^California Legislative Information, Assembly Bill 1836 (2023-2024), amending Civil Code section 3344.1. leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/...billTextClient.xhtml
  13. ^TheWrap, "SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify New Contract With Over 91% Approval," June 4, 2026. thewrap.com/...sag-aftra-members-ratify-new-contract
  14. ^GreenSlate, "2026 SAG-AFTRA Basic & TV Agreement: Contract Changes, Rates & Effective Dates." greenslate.com/...sag-aftra-tv-theatrical-agreement
  15. ^SAGindie, "NOTICE: SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Contract Updates (2026)," June 24, 2026. sagindie.org/...tv-theatrical-contract-2026
  16. ^TV Technology, "SAG-AFTRA, Studios Reach Tentative Agreement," May 4, 2026. tvtechnology.com/...dios-reach-tentative-agreement
  17. ^Suffolk University Journal of High Technology Law, "Game Over for Unauthorized AI Performances: The SAG-AFTRA Video Game Strike and Performer Protections Under the New Collective Bargaining Agreement," October 30, 2025. sites.suffolk.edu/...llective-bargaining-agreement
  18. ^Wikipedia, "SAG-AFTRA." en.wikipedia.org/...SAG-AFTRA
  19. ^TheWrap, "Sean Astin Elected SAG-AFTRA President," September 12, 2025. thewrap.com/sean-astin-elected-sag-aftra-president
  20. ^The Hollywood Reporter, "SAG-AFTRA Slams AI Actress: 'Tilly Norwood Is Not an Actor,'" September 30, 2025. hollywoodreporter.com/...d-xicoia-union-1236388942
  21. ^TheWrap, "SAG-AFTRA's Anti-Deepfake Bill Endorsement Draws 16,000 Signatures," June 16, 2026. thewrap.com/...-endorsement-draws-16000-signatures
  22. ^TheWrap, "Senate Judiciary Committee Clears No Fakes Act," June 18, 2026. thewrap.com/...ciary-committee-clears-no-fakes-act
  23. ^Variety, "SAG-AFTRA Calls Strike Against Major Video Game Publishers," July 25, 2024. variety.com/...game-strike-actors-union-1236085195
  24. ^Wikipedia, "Screen Actors Guild." en.wikipedia.org/...Screen_Actors_Guild
  25. ^Wikipedia, "American Federation of Television and Radio Artists." en.wikipedia.org/...f_Television_and_Radio_Artists

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