SAG-AFTRA members vote to authorise videogame strike ahead of pay talks

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Union members in the videogame industry are preparing to strike for fairer wages and AI protections. 

Performers in the videogame industry are now preparing to strike ahead of upcoming pay talks this week. The acting union SAG-AFTRA is set to negotiate with several gaming companies this week to address concerns surrounding pay and AI usage in the industry. SAG-AFTRA held a voting session to decide if a strike should be authorised, and 98.32% of members who cast ballots were in favour. 

So, what does this mean? SAG-AFTRA union members’ work in videogames is covered under Interactive Media Agreements which were put in place all the way back in the 1990s, and adjusted constantly in the years since to ensure better pay and work conditions. This week, the union is set to make further adjustments to address new concerns for its members performing in videogames. It will do that by negotiating with videogame companies on a new labour contract starting today. 

Members of the SAG-AFTRA acting union were asked to cast ballots to decide if a videogame strike would be authorised if talks fell through, and the results were nigh unanimous: out of 34,687 voters, 98.32% voted in favour of the strike. This doesn’t mean that videogame actors are now about to strike - only that they are prepared to strike if videogame companies do not provide fair terms to the contract negotiations taking place this week. 

Issues regarding the use of AI in videogames have become prevalent in recent years, and other problems such as low pay and safety precautions during motion capture are motivating SAG-AFTRA to pursue a fairer contract for its members. In a statement, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said:

After five rounds of bargaining, it has become abundantly clear that the video game companies aren’t willing to meaningfully engage on the critical issues: compensation undercut by inflation, unregulated use of AI and safety. I remain hopeful that we will be able to reach an agreement that meets members’ needs, but our members are done being exploited, and if these corporations aren’t willing to offer a fair deal, our next stop will be the picket lines.

SAG-AFTRA’s president Fran Drescher also said:

It's time for the video game companies to stop playing games and get serious about reaching an agreement on this contract. The result of this vote shows our membership understands the existential nature of these negotiations, and that the time is now for these companies - which are making billions of dollars and paying their CEOs lavishly - to give our performers an agreement that keeps performing in video games as a viable career.

If the game strike goes ahead, it will become the second ongoing strike in Hollywood. The writers' strike has recently resolved, but the actors' strike rages on.