SAG-AFTRA members have ratified successor television animation contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Members approved the three-year agreements by a vote of 87.68% to 12.32%, the performers union announced Wednesday night.
“This is a strong, future-focused agreement with significant gains for our members,” said SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris. “It applies scale wages to more productions, lowers budget thresholds for half-hour HBSVOD programs and delivers additional money for the use of interstitial programs in new media.”
The gains in the contract mirrored those in the new master contract for primetime TV and feature films, which was ratified in July with 75% support from members. Those included wage increases of 2.5% in the first year, 3% in the second and 3% in the third; a 26% hike in residuals for high-budget animated programs made for subscription streaming services like Amazon Prime and Hulu; and reduction of the budget threshold that triggers high-budget coverage for half-hour animated programs made for subscription streamers from $550,000 to $500,000.
The contract includes a 1% increase in the contribution rate to the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan and optional wage diversions in the second and third years that allow the union to shift 0.5% from the wage increase to the contribution rate for the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan or the SAG-Producers Pension Plan/AFTRA Retirement Fund. The Health Plan Trustees have been under fire in recent weeks over their plans to raise eligibility thresholds due to higher healthcare costs.
“The industry is changing, and our contracts are changing with it,” said SAG-AFTRA chief contracts officer Ray Rodriguez. “Building off of our successful TV/theatrical negotiations, the new animation contracts position members to grow residuals from subscription streaming services — the area of greatest growth.”