Hollywood Actors' Union Board Approves Agreement with Studios by 86% Vote

Members of the board of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists voted on Friday with 86% approval for an agreement with Hollywood studios that ended the strike of union members after nearly four months. Duncan Crabtree, the executive director of the guild, announced at a press conference that the three-year contract is set to be put to a vote by union members later on Friday. The successful vote by the board, which includes actors Billy Porter, Jennifer Beals, Sean Astin, and Sharon Stone, was entirely expected, as many of the same individuals were also present in the negotiating committee. The union leadership declared the strike over immediately upon reaching a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Wednesday, rather than waiting for board approval. This vote is a crucial step towards returning to the lucrative industry in Hollywood. The vote by union members will be the final important stage. Following the announcement of the tentative agreement, actors were largely optimistic about what their leaders had secured for them, but their reaction to the details will be significant. The last actors' strike, in 1980, ended with difficulties, and many members opposed that contract, leading to nearly a month of ups and downs before the situation was finally resolved. Previously, the Writers Guild of America and the Hollywood Producers Union had reached a three-year agreement that ended the writers' strike in Hollywood after weeks. After several months of strikes and disputes, reaching an agreement in Hollywood became likely; reports from Amir Gitipayyan indicated that actors reached an agreement with producers and studios. The Video Game Actors Guild approved a potential strike, marking the end of part of the Hollywood strikes; initial agreements were reached between writers and film studios, signaling a de-escalation of the crisis in Hollywood as studios and writers move closer to agreement.