SAG-AFTRA has a tentative agreement with the four major television broadcast networks and other producers on a new contract, it was announced today.
ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox have agreed on a successor to the National Code of Fair Practice for Network Television Broadcasting. If approved, the new contract starts July 1 and runs through June 30, 2021.
The tentative agreement will be submitted for approval to the SAG-AFTRA National Board at its meeting July 21. Subject to the board’s approval, the agreement will then be sent to the union’s membership for ratification.
“This deal delivers overall gains in important areas, including meaningful increases in wages and residuals rates that will put real money in members’ pockets,” said AFTRA president Gabriell Carteris. “Additionally, the agreement now reflects important new language limiting auditions or meetings in private hotel rooms and residences, which represents a partial realization of our work toward industry culture change.”
The agreement includes increases in contract minimums spread over a three-year period. That includes an 8.7 percent overall wage increase to most program fees, implemented through increases of 2.5 percent the first year, 3 percent the second year and 3 percent the third year. The AFTRA Retirement Fund also gets a bump in funding
The new agreement will also include automatic increases for daytime serial performers, background actors, certain group dancers, stand-ins, and dance-ins, among other notables.
In a continuing nod to #MeToo, the agreement includes improved harassment-prevention language, underling clauses prohibiting harassment, and also adjusts the working hours language for minors, SAG-AFTRA said.
The TV networks contract generates more than $200 million a year in covered member earnings and covers programming in nearly all television day parts, as well as programming produced for digital media.
