Netflix and SAG-AFTRA have tentatively agreed to a new contract, a successor to the 2019 agreement between the streamer and the guild for live-action film and TV productions.
The guild said on Tuesday that a tentative agreement is subject to approval by the SAG-AFTRA National Board, which will meet August 8, 2022. The specific details will not be released in advance of the Board’s review. If approved by the board, the contract will be enforced until summer 2025.
TheWrap has reached out to Netflix for comment.
The 2019 agreement was the first ever between the actors union and the streaming giant and was part of Netflix’s efforts to tie itself closer to the Hollywood establishment along with its admission into the Motion Picture Association. The contract established many of the basic labor protections that SAG-AFTRA and other Hollywood unions negotiate with legacy studios through the AMPTP, including minimum rates, turnaround provisions, exclusivity terms in actors’ contracts, and residual payment rates.
The contract also included anti-harassment protections negotiated by SAG-AFTRA in the wake of the #MeToo movement, including a ban on auditions in private settings such as residences and hotel rooms and adherence to on-set harassment protocols.
Prior to 2019, SAG-AFTRA had been signing agreements with Netflix on a production by production basis. The deal provided a term agreement for live-action dramatic productions and also recognized performance capture and dubbing as work covered under the traditional agreement.
The Netflix/SAG-AFTRA talks come ahead of what is expected to be a pivotal year in Hollywood labor negotiating. SAG-AFTRA, along with the Writers Guild and Directors Guild, will enter a new cycle of talks with the AMPTP with streaming residuals expected to be the main tension point between labor and management. Compensation for streaming had expected to be tackled in 2020 as streaming services like HBO Max and Disney+ were launching, but was tabled due to the financial turbulence inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
