Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512402
24 SAG-AFTRA | Fall/Winter 2023 | sagaftra.org CONTRACT GAINS $1 BILLION+ IN NEW COMPENSATION AND BENEFIT PL AN FUNDING — $317.2 MILLION TO THE BENEFIT PL ANS. PAT TERN-BREAKING COMPENSATION ESCALATION, with two wage increases in the first year of the contract — 7% general wage increase effective Nov. 9, 2023, and another 4% increase effective July 1, 2024, for a compounded first-year wage increase of 11.28%. Plus another 3.5% increase effective July 1, 2025. UNPRECEDENTED BACKGROUND ACTOR WAGE PAT TERN with two wage increases in the first year of the contract — 11% effective Nov. 9, 2023, and another 4% increase effective July 1, 2024, for a compounded first-year wage increase of 15.51%. Plus another 3.5% increase effective July 1, 2025. Finally INCREASES THE NUMBER OF COVERED POSITIONS for background actors in the West Coast Zones to equal those of the East Coast Zones — a first! This is projected to create 10,700 additional days of covered background work annually. Substantial improvements in relocation allowances for series performers, covering $5,000 per month for up to six months with no limits on the number of seasons. Based on employment patterns, this amounts to a 153% EFFECTIVE INCREASE IN RELOCATION PAYMENTS. Producers are now also required to provide OPPORTUNITIES TO INTERVIEW VIRTUALLY OR IN PERSON on a first-come, first- served basis, with accommodations for performers with disabilities, senior performers and minors. If a virtual audition requires performers to memorize, they are still ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION. ADDITIONAL SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION PROTECTIONS for performers, including the use of intimacy coordinators in scenes involving nudity and simulated sex or upon request, and additional safeguards for background actors. INFORMED CONSENT and compensation for the creation and use of AI digital replicas of our members, living and deceased, whether created on set or obtained from other materials. PERFORMERS ARE ENTITLED TO CONSENT when a producer uses the performer's name and features to prompt a generative artificial intelligence system to create a "synthetic performer" or "fake" with a principal facial feature (eyes, ears, nose and/or mouth) that is recognizable as that of the performer. Confirmed COVERAGE OF PERFORMANCE CAPTURE work. NEW COMPENSATION STREAM for performers working in streaming. It provides a substantial bonus on top of existing residuals structures, making work on high budget SVOD productions more sustainable for middle-class actors. A nearly 43% increase to the benefit plan contribution cap for one-hour productions and a nearly 67% increase to the cap for half-hour productions. These increases should generate OVER $180 MILLION TO THE BENEFIT PLANS over the course of the contract, as well as help performers working on those shows to continue qualifying for benefit coverage.