It seems like it’s a week for good news in the entertainment business! As always, BLAKE & WANG PA is here to guide you through what you need to know about these groundbreaking negotiations. There’s been serious concern in the industry about the expiring contract of the AMPTP with the Screen Actors Guild. If this had gone sour, we would have seen threats of an actor’s strike. Coming on top of the industry-wide ruckus that COVID-19 has left in its wake, this could well have been disastrous. Fortunately, it looks like this particular hurdle has been avoided even before it can become an issue, and the overall result of the newly renegotiated contract looks like a positive boost for the film industry right at a time where that news is very welcome indeed. Interesting as a strike during the unique conditions of the pandemic may have been, that’s something much better to celebrate!
What deal has been cut?
SAG-AFTRA’s national boards have fully approved the union’s 3-year film and TV contract. The vote was split pretty evenly through two-thirds majority, indicating the bulk of the parties involved support the measure, although the third who ruled against it may be worth watching as it goes forward to their members. Overall, feelings on both sides of the deal seem to be positive, and the projected changes to guild member’s packages certainly look attractive.
What effect will this new agreement have on members?
Sources within the union suggest that this new agreement with management representation AMPTP will add well over $318,000,000 to their member’s income over the next three years. That is, of course, nothing to be sneezed at, and is likely to be a fairly viable idea, even given the loss of most of 2020 for filming. They’re also projecting a 26% gain in streaming residuals, enhanced by a change to how foreign streaming residuals are calculated, that will be very welcome as we see the streaming industry booming right now. Lastly, they even project wage increases in the region of 2.5%-3% annually over the three years.
This could be slight optimism speaking. As one of the top entertainment law firms Los Angeles has, we have been well-placed to see the profound impact the COVID-19 shutdown has had (and continues to have) on the industry. While we’re seeing a return to business throughout the film and TV industry, there can be little doubt that the safety measures being imposed on set will overhaul the way film and TV crews do business.
While these precautions are undoubtedly necessary, and we applaud the stringent measures the industry is willing to put in place to protect their casts and crews as well as the unique ways sets are rising to the challenges of shooting in the COVID era, it’s all extra administration and untested territory. With potentially slower filming times due to these challenges, coupled with an overall downturn in income and earning potential throughout all industries in 2020, will we really see wages rise in the sector? If so, the SAG members who benefit will be one of very few industries globally to see any kind of wage uptick. Putting that aside, however, the projections of growth are promising for the industry as a whole, and we hope to see them come to pass.
They are also looking to increase the union’s benefits plant by just under $100,000,000 over that three year period, with over half of that being additional funding for the Health Plan. That’s incredibly admirable, and will no doubt be a tremendous comfort to members going forward.
Will the deal be welcomed?
If there’s one thing entertainment law firms San Francisco-wide are no strangers to, it’s that the guilds and unions don’t always speak as clearly for the individual members as they like to think. With this in mind, will this lofty announcement be well met on the ground?
SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris seems to believe so, reinforcing that this deal represents the “needs and interests of our members as they shared them with us during our national Wages and Working Condition meetings held across the country.” It certainly falls in line with future-focused projections for the industry, and can be argued to be a strong foundation to further evolve over the next three years. If there’s one legacy that COVID has left the film industry, it’s that there are going to be significant changes in both the industry as well as the way the film business is done in general, so starting from a stable and mutually-agreed foundation with some guarantees and reassurances is certainly not a bad way to go into an exciting, but slightly uncertain, future for the industry.
David White, the national executive director (and de facto negotiator) for the union added the following:
“I am grateful to our negotiating committee and staff for their tireless and exceptional work on these once-in-a-generation negotiations. In voting to recommend approval of this forward-thinking agreement to our members, the board is helping to usher in a new era for how our members work and earn a living. We achieved unprecedented increases in residuals in the fastest-growing category, we secured ground-breaking protections for members in the areas of nudity, simulated sex, and sexual harassment, and we strengthened our benefit plans.”
While the agreement must still be ratified by members of the union, it’s certainly a welcome positive view of the negotiations and they seem likely to go over well.
What added protections does the agreement bring actors?
We touched on the new difficulties involved in shooting scenes safely (from the infectious risk perspective) in the COVID era above, but this is relatively small stuff next to some other concerns simulated sex scenes and/or nude scenes have raised for union actors in the past. The new agreement looks to put in place improvements in protection for performers undertaking this work that’s nothing short of historic in scope.
While we won’t go into full details here, key points covered include better safeguards for interviews and auditions, a 48-hour ‘cool down’ review period on the signing of riders as well as improved access to discussing these riders, and more. There’s also new stringent rules for production, including clarity on the definitions of ‘closed set’ and strict prohibitions on the use of personal media devices to record. The use of digital doubles and digitization of these scenes in general has also been clarified and ratified.
This is not the only improvement. Positive changes to overtime calculator for stunt performers on weekly/episodic series have been hammered out. Likewise, covered background positions for the West Coast on episodic productions are due to come in in Year Two, creating over two thousand background jobs a year, better pay, and scheduled breaks.
Broadcast syndication, despite being a declining business, also had tweaked provisions, swapping out a dated fixed residual with a revenue-based residual. Protections eliminating advance payment of residuals for future syndication have also been secured.
A historic- and smooth- negotiation concludes
Given that the entirety of the 7 week negotiation period was undertaken by videoconference, the hammering out of the fine detail is admirable. While the board vote didn’t trigger consideration of a minority report, we’ve been told one will be included when the members vote.
While we’re still waiting on the results of this final vote, the overall mood accompanying this announcement is buoyant and discussions appear to have been sensible and productive, so we do not anticipate further hurdles ahead.
BLAKE & WANG P.A always has it’s fingers on the pulse of entertainment news nationwide, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us today if you’re looking for efficient, informed counsel and representation.
As with all complex entertainment matters, please seek experienced entertainment legal counsel before making legal and financial decisions. This article is for informational purposes only and does not represent legal, accounting or tax advice. Do not act on this article without hiring legal representation.