The results of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists vote to strike have been revealed with 96.52% of members voting in favor of the Interactive Media Agreement Strike Authorization Referendum.
Voting ended yesterday, Oct. 6, and since the vote received at least 75% voting in favor of the Referendum, the National Board now has the authority to declare a strike should they wish to do so. Having already met in February and June of this year, the Negotiating Committee will now “return to the bargaining table and continue to press for a fair resolution on behalf of performers working in video games.”
Members of SAG-AFTRA voted to strike due to their demands for better compensation for games that sell two million copies or more, stunt pay for “vocally stressful” recording sessions, on-hand stunt coordinators during performance captures, and transparency through all of their work.
Speaking on the issue of compensation for games that sell at least two million copies, the union had this to say at the time voting was still underway:
“We looked at the 100 top-selling games of the past two years and found that of the games with sales numbers that would trigger a secondary payment under this proposal – the ‘blockbusters’ – the penetration of union performers is nearly 100 percent,” the website reads. “That’s why we positioned our ‘ask’ at 2 million copies – it’s where most games start to turn a profit, and it’s where all the union talent is found.”
Time will tell whether or not video game actors end up going on strike, but it stands to reason that if they do not come to an agreement on their demands then they will initiate the Interactive Media Agreement Strike Authorization Referendum and go on strike.
Source: SAG-AFTRA
