SAG-AFTRA reached a deal on Wednesday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on new contracts for television and feature film animation.
Full details of the contract will remain confidential until the agreement is approved for a ratification vote by the SAG-AFTRA national board.
Negotiations on a new animation contract were delayed until this winter due to SAG-AFTRA’s strike on its TV/theatrical contract which lasted 118 days from July 14 to November 9 of last year. It was the longest strike on the TV/theatrical contract in the union’s history.
In the last animation contract talks in 2020, SAG-AFTRA negotiated wage increases of 2.5% in the first year of the contract and 3% in each of the two successive years. It is not yet known whether this round of contracts will include a higher percentage increase akin to the 7% first-year increase negotiated last year for the TV/Theatrical contract.
The union also negotiated a 26% increase in residuals for streaming animated shows. It remains to be seen how animation will be included in SAG-AFTRA’s upcoming plans for a “Robin Hood fund” that will see studios send additional payments for shows that perform well on streaming and will be shared by all guild members who participate on streaming projects.
