SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers have reached a tentative agreement covering exclusivity terms – standard provisions in TV contracts that can hold actors off the market and unable to work for long periods of time. The tentative agreement is subject to approval by the SAG-AFTRA National Board, which will meet on Saturday, Aug. 20.
The specific details will not be released in advance of the board’s review, but before the tentative agreement was reached, the union maintained that “Exclusivity contracts are outdated and harmful to creative artists and their families. Since 2009, series seasons have been cut from 24 episodes down to an average of 12. The amount of downtime between seasons has increased from five months to 14 months. That’s a long time to be out of work and it has severe financial impacts on actors and their families.
“Producers have moved their production and exhibition models into the 21st Century and it’s time they allow their employees to join them. Forced unemployment is unethical and outrageous. Exclusivity provisions or unfair, outdated contract provisions that keep actors tied to employers and unable to work for months and years at a time. Actors must often forfeit other employment opportunities, even when there is no conflict with their original employer.”