Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541667
For Members S AG-AFTRA members have approved the 2025 Network Television Code Agreement by a vote of 96.48% to 3.52%, ratifying the contract that covers work on a broad range of live and recorded programs including soap operas; talk, variety, reality, game and awards shows; and news and sports programming. The agreement contains a wide range of gains for members, including: • A general wage increase of 3.5% in year one, 3% in year two and 3% in year three — a compounded increase of 9.8% over the term — with additional targeted increases for specific performer categories. • An increase of 1 percentage point to the benefit plan contribution rate and a reallocation of existing contributions that together effectively raise the AFTRA Retirement Fund contribution rate by 3.3 percentage points, adding vital resources to strengthen members' retirement security. • A commitment to adopt future artificial intelligence terms secured in the upcoming 2026 TV/ Theatrical Agreement negotiations into the Network Television Code. • High-budget non-dramatic entertainment programs made for SVOD will now be subject to the minimum terms of the Network Television Code. • Heightened protections for young performers, including background checks for individuals that supervise or teach minors, education requirements for emancipated minors, and confirmed access to video/audio feeds for parents/guardians. • Broadcasters on specific sports events on streaming platforms will now be covered. • Best efforts requirement to use intimacy coordinators for scenes involving nudity or simulated sex and provide 48-hour advance notification to background performers when nudity or simulated sex will be required. • Better rates for dancers on the Super Bowl Halftime Show. • Increased payments for singers who multi-track or sweeten three times or more in a session. • Performers will now be provided with information for requesting disability accommodations no later than the first day of employment. The number of returned votes was 17,096, representing 14.74% ballots returned. Votes were submitted online and by mail-in ballot, with the deadline of Aug. 20 at 5 p.m. PT. The final vote was certified by Integrity Voting Systems, an impartial election service based in Everett, Washington. SAG-AFTRA Members Approve 2025 Network Television Code The Union Unites With Lawmakers SAG-AFTRA Supports Initiatives That Benefit Members S AG-AFTRA continues to support public policy, on both the state and federal levels, that protects members and expands opportunities. Here are a few recent updates: Massachusetts legislators heard testimony in support of two SAG-AFTRA-supported A.I. bills — HB 1615 and HB 74. HB 1615, heard on July 15, expands the commonwealth's current right-of-publicity laws by adding "likeness" and "voice" to "name," "portrait" and "picture" as protected categories, and adds a postmortem right. HB 74, heard on Sept. 11, requires informed consent for any contract that transfers the rights to an individual's likeness or voice for digital replicas. In October, SAG-AFTRA joined Nevada's leading trade unions in forming the Nevada Jobs Now! Coalition — an effort to support the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act and the Summerlin Studios project, which has the potential to bring tens of thousands of jobs to the state. For more information on the union's A.I. victories, check out our A.I. story on page 62. To remain updated on all of our public policy work, visit sagaftra.org/gapp. Legislative Updates 26 SAG-AFTRA | Fall/Winter 2025 | sagaftra.org