Screen Actors Guild Votes to Strike Against Video Game Industry

The week began with an agreement in principle between Hollywood studios and screenwriters to end the strike, but it continued with a vote aimed at opening a new battleground. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) called a strike months ago, and the bells pointing to the video game industry are beginning to ring true. This Monday, union members voted 98.32% in favor of authorizing a strike against the video game industry. A total of 34,687 members voted, representing 27.47% of SAG-AFTRA’s voting membership.

The results of this vote do not guarantee that a strike will take place, but they do give negotiators the ability to call one during the ongoing negotiations for a new interactive media agreement if they see fit.

Fran Drescher, president of the union, stressed that “it is time for the video game companies to stop playing games and get serious about reaching an agreement on this contract. The outcome of this vote shows that our members understand the existential nature of these negotiations and that it is time for these companies - who make billions of dollars and pay their CEOs handsomely - to give our performers an agreement that will keep video game performance as a viable career.”

The video game industry is no stranger to strikes

A labor dispute of enormous importance that has affected Hollywood and that aims to go further. The companies that would face this strike are the following:

We have a list full of major production and publishing companies, as well as companies like VoiceWorks Productions Inc. who also work and represent major companies like Ubisoft or Deep Silver.