Over two weeks after SAG-AFTRA reached a deal with the studios and ended their nearly four-month long strike, the actors guild has just released the full text of the tentative agreement.
We’ll get into the fine print soon with analysis of this draft document (as Guild National Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland notes: “The MOA is not ‘final’ until signed by both parties), but for now read the full Memorandum of Agreement for yourself here.
A Friday news dump by any other name, the publication of the long awaited 129-page 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts Memorandum of Agreement was promised two days ago by Guild president Fran Drescher.
“As you may know, traditionally SAG-AFTRA contract ratification votes rely on our detailed summaries of the new agreement, as the drafting of a formal memorandum of agreement (MOA) usually takes many weeks,” Crabtree-Ireland said in a note accompanying the “document in progress” MOA link sent to Guild members this afternoon. “However, for this historic deal some members have asked to review the full draft MOA during the ratification voting period,” the Guild leader added. For greater context, the Guild also included links to the past several previous contracts too. See Crabtree-Ireland’s full note below.
Today’s MOA release also comes as eligible members of the 160,000-strong SAG-AFTRA have been voting on ratification of the proposed new three-year contract since November 14. The ratification vote runs until December 5, but a well placed source told me the online voting was “really heavy” in the opening days.
On November 10, two days after SAG-AFTRA and the CEO Gang of Four-led studios settled the strike that had shut down production in Hollywood, the actors guild leadership gave a press conference on the agreement and put out a bullet points overview of the new deal – after 86% of the National Board voted to take the matter to members for ratification. SAG-AFTRA has proclaimed the agreement to be of “extraordinary scope,” and “valued at over one billion dollars in new wages and benefit plan funding.”
As criticism of the potential deal rose, specifically around the AI provisions, SAG-AFTRA dropped an 18-page summary of the agreement late on November 12 – just before the first of many Guild information sessions with Drescher and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland kicked off on November 13.
“This deal has set the groundwork for our future and generations to come, it is major,” Drescher told members on that virtual info session on November 13. “We didn’t get that, but we got this, this, this and this, and we’ll get that next time,” she added taking a swipe at “low-level people” who pilloried the agreement, as far as they knew. “In negotiation, you have to weigh and measure and make your informed decision on behalf of the greater good.”
In recent days, Justine Bateman, who served as an AI advisor to the negotiating committee, and Matthew Modine, who was one of nine National Board members who voted against sending the deal to members for ratification, have come out sharply against the agreement – undoubtedly in part why the document was released today.
Read Duncan Crabtree-Ireland’s full note to SAG-AFTRA members today here:
Dear Members,
As you may know, traditionally SAG-AFTRA contract ratification votes rely on our detailed summaries of the new agreement, as the drafting of a formal memorandum of agreement (MOA) usually takes many weeks. However, for this historic deal some members have asked to review the full draft MOA during the ratification voting period.
I’m pleased to advise that the draft MOA containing detailed language on all of the changes in the 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts tentative agreement has now been posted to sagaftra.org/contracts2023. Click here to view it.
These contracts achieve more than $1 billion in NEW compensation and benefit plan funding (including an additional $317.2 million to the benefit plans). The contracts establish lengthy and detailed AI guardrails that didn’t exist before and do protect you as we meet the challenge of this new technology, hair and makeup equity, significantly increased background coverage, outsized streaming residuals, a new streaming success fund, and so much more. These gains are only possible because of your sacrifice, solidarity and tenacity over the 118 days of the strike and are assured if you vote to ratify the agreement.
As you will see in the MOA, this is a draft document and is being provided to you for informational purposes only to assist your decision making during this ratification process. The MOA is not “final” until signed by both parties.
As an additional reference to aid your review of this draft MOA, you may wish to refer to the contracts it modifies, builds upon and improves, specifically the 2014 Codified Basic Agreement and Television Agreement, both as amended by the 2017 and 2020 memorandum of agreements which followed.
Please review these details closely to understand all of the meaningful improvements. Your National Board and Negotiating Committee both voted to approve and recommend a YES vote. To lock in these gains, you must vote to approve by 5 p.m. PT on Dec. 5, 2023. To register your vote, please visit vote.ivsballot.com/tvtheatrical2023 and use the PIN on the postcard that was mailed to eligible SAG-AFTRA members on Tuesday, Nov. 14 or if needed, your PIN can be retrieved from the voting website.
And lastly, if you haven’t already, visit sagaftra.org/contracts2023, where you can watch videos of informational meetings, read FAQs and find many AI resources regarding the gains in this contract.
In strength together,
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland
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Source: DLine
