Hitting The Bricks ...

SAG-AFTRA wrapped up its strike authorization vote for cartoon voice-over actors yesterday, and the vote wasn't close.

Members voted 98.27 percent YES in favor of a TV Animation strike authorization. Voting closed July 18, and ballots were tabulated by Integrity Voting Systems. ... It gives the National Board the authority to declare a strike if absolutely necessary. We will keep negotiating with producers for a contract that guarantees members scale wages and residuals for animated programs made for streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon.

This vote sends a message that we are united and puts our negotiators in the best position possible. ...

For those keeping tabs on what's going on here, it's really pretty simple. The unionized animation industry is becoming divided between product delivered via cable networks and broadcast entities (with wage minimums and residuals), and product that is streamed over the internet. (Netflix, Amazon, and soon Disney). Internet delivery falls under SAG-AFTRA's and TAG's "New Media" contract clauses, where for all practical purposes there are few wage minimums or residual streams. As SAG-AFTRA explained in a letter to members:

... “Approximately 80 percent of live-action programs made for subscription-based streaming platforms are covered by terms that provide scale wages and residuals,” (i.e., the high-budget SVOD terms. ....

In contrast, ... “the producer’s last offer will cover less than half” of animated programs made for SVOD, and even that comes with various required concessions the union deems unacceptable." ...

For the Animation Guild, the contract for which ends at the end of this month, the situation is similar. Because of the high budget thresholds for animated product, no employee working on streamed television shows is covered by TAG's wage minimums.

SAG-AFTRA's animation contract ended months ago; the Animation Guild's collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of July. Whether TAG will join the actors' union with a strike vote of its own within the next several weeks is, at this point, an open question.