Video games voice actors strike has been authorised

Last month a slew of prominent video game voice actors voted to go on strike through the union SAG-AFTRA. That strike is now authorised with a whopping 96.52 per cent of union members having voted in its favour. In order for the National Board to declare a strike it needed at least 75 per cent of union members to give the greenlight. Given the outcome, the Negotiating Committee will return to the bargaining table in hopes of coming to an agreement with various publishers for a new contract. The previous Interactive Media Agreement expired on 31st December last year and negotiations in both February and June failed to produce adequate results for the union.


"It is important to note that the referendum result does not mean that members are on strike, rather, it gives the National Board the authority to declare a strike," SAG-AFTRA noted in its announcement about the results. It sounds like that's going to happen unless various publishers can work something out with the union pronto. Earlier last month, the SAG-AFTRA explained that the template for the original agreement, negotiated and signed in the mid-1990s, was still in place today "despite radical changes in what we are required to do on set and in the recording studio" and warned that it could go on strike. The organisation is looking to make a number of changes to the agreement; among them including a better bonus payment plan.

"You might call them residuals, secondary payments, royalties, pay bumps or whatever suits your fancy," the union explained. "It is simply the idea that, if a video game is wildly successful, actors should share in its financial success. There is ample precedent for residual income for actors, yet they've historically been extremely difficult to achieve in this contract. The formula we propose is as follows:
We're asking for a reasonable performance bonus for every 2 million copies, or downloads sold, or 2 million unique subscribers to online-only games, with a cap at 8 million units/ subscribers. That shakes out, potentially, to FOUR bonus payments for the most successful games: 2 million, 4 million, 6 million and 8 million copies." In addition, the union is proposing that the new agreement tackles concern for "Vocal Stress." That is, a proposal for a two hour limit on "vocally stressful" recording sessions. The group also wants to see stunt coordinators be required on set to assist performance capture actors. What's more, the proposal calls for greater overall transparency in the auditioning process. The union points out that, oftentimes, the actual name of a project is kept secret, and this is not an ideal situation for actors.


The SAG-AFTRA says that its package of proposals is "not loaded with any crazy demands." Several prominent voice actors have spoken out in support of authorising a strike, including Roger Craig Smith (Batman, Assassin's Creed), Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect, Guild Wars), and actor Wil Wheaton.