"It’s time for the videogame companies to stop playing games and get serious about reaching an agreement on this contract," SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said."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 videogames as a viable career.
SAG-AFTRA also represents actors who have been on strike since July, but the Interactive Media Agreement negotiations are separate from that. Many of the issues being negotiated are similar, however. "Between the exploitative uses of AI and lagging wages, those who work in videogames are facing many of the same issues as those who work in film and television," chief contracts officer Ray Rodriguez said."This strike authorization makes an emphatic statement that we must reach an agreement that will fairly compensate these talented performers, provide common-sense safety measures, and allow them to work with dignity. Our members’ livelihoods depend on it.
The union said that a total of 34,687 members, representing 27.47% of eligible voters, cast ballots in the vote. Of those, 98.32% were in favor of authorizing a strike.