Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1530033
68 SAG-AFTRA | Fall/Winter 2024 | sagaftra.org Scan the QR code to listen to a podcast of our L.A. Comic Con panel The Hidden Talent Behind Video Game Characters. and has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the company with the National Labor Relations Board. At the same time the union has been striking some of the biggest companies in the video game industry, it has found great success among independent and lower-budget productions — and even a big-budget game or two. More than 130 games have been signed to the union's Tiered-Budget Independent Interactive Media Agreement, Interim Interactive Media Agreement and the new Independent Interactive Localization Agreement, all of which contain the consent and compensation terms that members are seeking. The result is not only that some members have been able to work under a union contract during the strike, but each new contract signed provides powerful evidence that the A.I. protections members need are entirely reasonable. It also means that while projects stall for the struck companies, many of the games that compete with them are moving forward with top union talent. "We applaud those video game companies signing our tiered-budget and interim agreements. Not only are they doing the right thing by their workers, they're also helping to preserve the human art, ingenuity and creativity that fuels interactive storytelling," said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. "These agreements signal that the video game companies in the collective bargaining group do not represent the will of the larger video game industry. The many companies that are happy to agree to our A.I. terms prove that these terms are not only reasonable, but feasible and sustainable for businesses." While we can't predict the status of the strike by the time this publication reaches members' mailboxes, if it isn't over, members will do what they always do and soldier on. Together. ● Visit sagaftra.org/videogamestrike for the latest news on the strike. Top, SAG-AFTRA members and supporters picket at Disney Character Voices on Aug. 15. Middle, SAG-AFTRA members at the New York Labor Day Parade on Sept. 7. Above, SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee members Linsay Rousseau, Sarah Elmaleh, Jasiri Booker, Andi Norris and Seth Allyn Austin at L.A. Comic Con on Oct. 5. ROB LATOUR/SUTTERSTOCK FOR SAG-AFTRA UNITY STRENGTH SOLIDARITY DEREK FRENCH/SHUTTERSTOCK