Major voice talent including former Solid Snake voice actor David Hayter, Mass Effect 3 “FemShep” voice actress Jennifer Hale, Borderlands Tiny Tina voice actress Ashly Burch, Metal Gear Solid Vamp voice actor Phil Lamarr; and Firefly Online voice actor Wil Wheaton have publicly supported the strike.
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“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”, reads a SAG-AFTRA statement.
The Interactive Media Agreement was drafted in the 1990s and outlined what video game companies could and couldn’t ask of voice actors.
SAG-AFTRA video game voice actors have authorized the union’s national board to call a strike with 96.5% of those voting backing a work stoppage. Only a 75 percent vote was required for SAG-AFTRA to be granted that authority. Previous talks in February and June failed to produce an agreement on a successor deal. To avoid this, the union will return to negotiations in hope of improving conditions.
While this doesn’t necessarily indicate that a strike is imminent, it does mean that if negotiations between the voice actors and publishers such as Electronic Arts, Activision, Disney, and Warner Bros. break down, a strike can be called right away.
“There is ample precedent for secondary payments across the media landscape”.
Apparently so did a number of other members of SAG-AFTRA – a joint effort between the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. “The truth is, back end bonuses are not uncommon in the video game industry”.
The strike would seek to provide union members with residual pay – something actors working in other fields of the entertainment industry receive, but do not earn when working on video games – as well as hazard pay for stressful vocal sessions, and guaranteed stunt coordinators for motion capture sessions.
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“The top games make money”, SAG-AFTRA said.
