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NEWS 

SAG-AFTRA Seeks Approval For A Second Strike: Against Video Game Companies

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SAG-AFTRA announced last week that it will seek authorisation for a second strike against major video game companies.

On July 14, 2023, the American actors’ union SAG-AFTRA went on strike over an ongoing labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. It has coincided with a Writers Guild of America strike that began in May in a series of broader Hollywood labor disputes. The strike has shut down productions around the globe and the ripple effects have been felt far and wide, including in South Africa.

The union said that talks on a new video game contract have reached a “stalemate,” and that the strike authorisation vote is needed as leverage to win wage increases and protection from artificial intelligence. The named companies in the announcement are Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Epic Games, Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions Inc., VoiceWorks Productions Inc. and WB Games Inc.

“Once again we are facing employer greed and disrespect. Once again artificial intelligence is putting our members in jeopardy of reducing their opportunity to work. And once again, SAG-AFTRA is standing up to tyranny on behalf of its members,” said SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher.

Voting on the second strike will be held between 5 and 25 September. Read more from CNN and BBC.