SAG-AFTRA members have voted overwhelmingly to approve a new contract with Netflix that allows actors more freedom to work on shows on other platforms.
The union announced that 89.03% voted in favor of the agreement, which is expected to cover the next four years.
The union had been focused on addressing “exclusivity,” under which TV actors have generally been blocked from working on other shows during hiatus periods. Under the new agreement, Netflix will have to designate a three-month period after each season — “a conflict-free window” — during which actors will be allowed to work on any show they want.
The provision was part of the tentative agreement reached on Aug. 2, and it served as a template for a similar deal the union reached two weeks later with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the other studio employers in collective bargaining.
In a statement, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher hailed the agreement as “historic,” and said it came about due to a “convergence of opportunities to leverage.”
“The advances in reducing exclusivity are seminal,” Drescher said. “The journeyman actor now has the freedom to work multiple jobs and make a living with less restrictions.”
The union has been pushing for greater flexibility for a decade, without making headway. This year, the union sponsored a bill in Sacramento, AB 437, that would have eliminated exclusivity entirely. The Motion Picture Association opposed the legislation, arguing that it would lead to scheduling chaos and would make it harder to order new seasons of shows.
The legislation gave SAG-AFTRA leverage in its talks, and was quickly withdrawn after the AMPTP and Netflix agreed to the three-month conflict-free windows. Netflix has recently joined the AMPTP, and in the future its contracts will be bargained on the same cycle as the AMPTP agreements.
The Netflix contract also includes adjustments to option periods. Actors have complained that the studios have kept them in limbo while deciding whether to make a new season of a TV show. The new agreement mandates that an option for a new season be exercised within 18 months of the start of principal photography of the prior season. It also mandates that once the option is picked up, shooting must start within three months. Both periods are subject to limited extensions if Netflix pays a penalty.
Further details can be found here.
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