Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1520149
40 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2024 | sagaftra.org The global market for games is estimated at more than $200 billion, larger than the film industry. And just as it has with television and film, all that money has often attracted the type of leadership that focuses exclusively on profit, loves mergers and acquisitions, and compensates for poor business decisions by laying off the people who do the work. And in that regard, it has been a brutal year for the games industry, with some 10,000 workers losing their jobs in 2023, and thousands more this year. Fortunately, for every C-suite executive who harbors little love for the art and creativity of video games and the people who make them, there are countless passionate indie developers who challenge the status quo, try new and innovative things and make the games they want to make. To cater to this dynamic group, SAG-AFTRA recently debuted the Tiered Budget Independent Interactive Media Agreement. This contract covers games with budgets from $250,000 to $15 million. It allows smaller development houses to utilize professional union talent, while providing more union-covered work opportunities to members. Included in the agreements are secondary payments so that performers may share in a game's success, and the same slate of A.I. protections that the union has been asking for in negotiations with the dominant game companies. Just as the union did with its indie agreement during the TV/ Theatrical/Streaming strike, by deploying these parallel contracts, it demonstrates that the provisions the unions are asking for are, in fact, entirely reasonable. Find out more about the agreements at sagaftra.org. Another approach SAG-AFTRA is taking is working with companies that supply A.I.-generated voices for use in games and animation. The union recently reached an agreement with Replica Studios (see page 48), a company that prides itself on taking an ethical approach to the use of A.I., and an agreement such as this puts guardrails into place around the use of A.I. that otherwise wouldn't exist and helps keep this use of the technology under our contracts. The union is also connecting directly with game developers, and both Elmaleh and Crabtree-Ireland attended this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in March. The two union leaders brought a labor perspective to a gathering for an industry that has been notoriously resistant to organizing. But last year's SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical/ Streaming strike and high-profile organizing efforts by Starbucks and Amazon employees have been just some of the news-making labor actions that have drawn attention to the importance of unions and the powers that workers hold, if they're willing to work collectively. And there are some victories: In late March, workers at Sega of America became the largest multi-department union of organized employees in the gaming industry, and other organizing efforts are underway. Change has been a constant in the video game world since they emerged as a popular form of entertainment in the 1970s, and by the time you read this, there could be a deal — or a strike. One thing you can count on, though, is that SAG-AFTRA members who are passionate about their work — whether they are elected leaders, committee members or rank-and-file performers who are involved in their union — will have a hand in shaping the future. What's coming can be a little scary, but it's also exciting and filled with opportunities. So get ready for the next level! • Negotiating the Contract SAG-AFTRA has been in negotiations with the following companies since October 2022 on the Interactive Media Agreement. • Activision Productions Inc. • Blindlight LLC • Disney Character Voices Inc. • Electronic Arts Productions Inc. • Formosa Interactive LLC • Insomniac Games Inc. • Take 2 Productions Inc. • VoiceWorks Productions Inc. • WB Games Inc. Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh speaks with an attendee at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in March. STUART LOCKLEAR