Actors Ratify New 3-Year Contract

As expected, members of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists voted overwhelmingly to approve a new three-year deal negotiated in July with major studios.

The unions said 96.7% of the 38,163 members voting approved the deal, with 3.2% voting no and 0.1% of the ballots invalid. The new contract, which affects 130,000 actors in the two unions, is estimated to provide more than $120 million in additional money for actors through such gains as better residuals for work on cable TV, boosted minimum pay levels and more pay for TV guest stars.