Photo: Taylor Weidman / Getty
A dispute between the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and some of the world’s biggest video game publishers is officially over, just over a year after it began.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/09/striking-voice-actors-didnt-get-everything-they-wanted-but-it-was-a-start/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/candcnccnvv7plvyvvic.png” title=”Striking Voice Actors Didn’t Get Everything They Wanted, But It Was A Start” excerpt=”After a year of striking, countless career sacrifices, and some thorny negotiating, the video game voice actors of the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) finally came to a tentative agreement with the 11 struck game companies yesterday.”]
The union first went on strike on October 20, 2016, with its members refusing to work with 11 major companies including Electronic Arts, Disney, Insomniac Games and Take Two.
As we’ve reported, the stoppage was over two issues: a lack of royalties and residuals being paid to voice actors (something regular actors enjoy), and a need for better protection for performers against the vocal stresses endured doing repetitive tasks like screaming and crying for sometimes days on end.
The new contract doesn’t meet all of SAG-AFTRA’s demands, but 90% of those voting in September (only 10% of the guild’s membership actually cast ballots) decided it met enough. Last month the union’s board approved the new deal, and today the contract has been ratified, formally ending the disagreement between the two sides.
It ends the longest-running actor’s strike in US history.
Comments
5 responses to “The Video Game Voice-Actor’s Strike Is Over”
Meanwhile, some of the bigger names involved in the strike continued to make money by accepting TV, movie and even other video game roles. The only people hurt in this strike by the union were the smaller, lesser known voice actors who went jobless “for the cause” while the big names made money regardless.
And all those scabs that worked with rights violators during the strike should be named and shamed. Their selfish disregard for the struggle and rights of others while undermining their own, is self defeating and contemptible.
But we would just be throwing crap at more little people.
It’s very much like how the games corporations tried to turn the strikes in to a voice actor vs developer issue to avoid focus on themselves.
Good for them.
Not surprising though, you’d be foolish to start negotiating without including things you could safely drop as a compromise.
Besides new articles I wouldn’t have even noticed it happend
Aren’t the only voice actors in the industry Jennifer Hale, Nolan North and Troy Baker?