While numerous Hollywood actors have been on strike since July, the same union, SAG-AFTRA, says it has “voted unanimously” to “send a strike authorization vote” to its members ahead of bargaining dates with video game companies.SAG-AFTRA seeks approval for strike action against video game companiesSAG-AFTRA has announced that a unanimous decision across its national board will see a strike authorization vote sent to all of its more than 160,000 members between September 5 and September 25. The vote comes after the union has reached a stalemate in negotiations with Activision, EA, Epic Games, Insomniac, Take-Two, WB Games, and more. It’s been almost a year since SAG-AFTRA’s Interactive Media Agreement contract with the video game companies expired, which was put in place to negotiate “wages that keep up with inflation,” such as an 11% wage increase to video game performer rates, and “protections against unrestrained use of artificial intelligence.” According to SAG-AFTRA, “the companies have failed to address those needs” throughout the negotiations, and as such, plans to have a strike authorization in place for when it next bargains with the companies on September 26.”Here we go again! Now our Interactive (Video Game) Agreement is at a stalemate too. Once again, we are facing employer greed and disrespect. Once again, artificial intelligence is putting our members in jeopardy of reducing their opportunity to work. And once again, SAG-AFTRA is standing up to tyranny on behalf of its members,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said. “The overlap of these two SAG-AFTRA contracts is no coincidence but rather a predictable issue impacting our industry as well as others all over the world. The disease of greed is spreading like wildfire, ready to burn workers out of their livelihoods and humans out of their usefulness. We at SAG-AFTRA say no! Not on our watch!””We are negotiating in good faith and hope to reach a mutually beneficial deal as soon as possible,” Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the ten video game companies, said in a statement to the BBC.
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