SAG Strikes Down Voice-Actor Contract

We reported last week that the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) had approved a contract that would give video game voice-over actors higher wages and better benefits.

Today, numerous sources are telling us that the SAG executive committee met Tuesday and rejected the contract that its negotiating group had originally approved. According to one board member, the executive committee's chief complaint was that the new contract would not pay residual royalties to voice-over actors.

Whether or not SAG will continue to negotiate remains to be seen. If an agreement cannot be reached, union jurisdiction over the video game industry will end up solely in the hands of AFTRA--with members' pensions and health contributions going to that union.

What does this mean to us gamers? Not much, honestly. Some game companies will fork over more of their profits to pay voice actors. Some will instead rely more on no-name, non-union voice-acting talent.

6/22/2005 Frank Provo