SAG-AFTRA Members Are Voting on the Four Year AI Deal Through June 4

The SAG-AFTRA National Board voted 89% on May 11 to recommend ratification of the guild's new four year deal with the AMPTP. Members began voting on May 14 and have until June 4 to cast their ballots.

The vote follows a tentative agreement first announced on May 2. That announcement confirmed expanded AI provisions but withheld full terms pending board review. The board summary released after the May 11 vote made the specific AI language public for the first time.

What the Board Summary Reveals on AI

The deal "strengthens consent and compensation and establishes new and enhanced guardrails on synthetics", according to the board summary published by SAG-AFTRA on May 11. The language confirms the 2026 contract targets specific weaknesses in the 2023 agreement, which allowed studios to obtain performer consent at the point of hiring rather than on a per project basis.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's Executive Director, made expanded AI protections a condition he would not drop. The four year contract length, longer than the guild's standard three year cycle, was the studios' primary ask, and Crabtree-Ireland held firm on AI until studios conceded.

Financial terms include a 5% residuals increase for streaming and a pension fund merger between SAG-AFTRA and AFTRA. The merged fund takes effect January 1, 2028. Specific compensation figures for digital replica use remain confidential pending full contract publication.

Three Guilds, One Contract Year

The WGA ratified its own four year deal in April 2026, securing $321 million for writer health plans and new AI licensing requirements. That deal established consent and disclosure rules for AI use of written material but stopped short of requiring studios to pay writers for training data use.

The DGA opened formal negotiations on May 11, the same day the SAG-AFTRA board voted. Their contract expires June 30, making DGA negotiations the most urgent remaining piece of the 2026 contract cycle. The guild's central position is that generative AI cannot be delegated to handle work that falls under DGA jurisdiction.

If SAG-AFTRA members ratify by June 4, all three major Hollywood guilds will have completed new contracts with enforceable AI provisions in a single year. IndieWire's analysis described the SAG-AFTRA deal as evidence that "Hollywood, for now, still values human actors".

What Members Are Voting On

Members vote through the guild's online ballot system, with results announced after June 4. A simple majority is required for ratification. The guild has not disclosed a turnout threshold.

The full contract will be published after ratification is confirmed. Until then, the board summary and Crabtree-Ireland's public statements are the only public record of what the AI provisions contain. Filmmakers and producers can generate text-to-video and image-to-video projects through the AI FILMS Studio workspace while the industry's new contract framework takes shape.

---

Sources

Deadline | Hollywood Reporter | IndieWire | Variety | The Wrap | UPI