The official Twitter account for SAG-AFTRA, the union between the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, has just announced that their National Board of Directors has set a strike date for this upcoming Friday, October 21, 2016.
When TechRaptor last touched on SAG-AFTRA, the organization had failed to reach compromises on a series of negotiations with some of the industries largest companies. Members of SAG-AFTRA had previously authorized the National Board of Directors to call a strike, with a near-unanimous 96.5% of the organization's members voting "yes" on the matter.
In a statement on their website, and in a strike notice, the National Board of Directors has said that negotiations with video game employers have fallen through and that the employers have "steadfastly refused to reach a fair deal during our contract negotiations". While they are re-opening negotiations on October 17 through October 19, they have stated on their website that "based on past experience, we are not confident management is willing to make the changes necessary to bring this contract up to the standards of our other agreements". Thus, the National Board of Directors has said that beginning October 21, 2016, SAG-AFTRA members will strike against the following video game employers:
- Activision Publishing, Inc.
- Blindlight, LLC
- Corps of Discovery Films
- Disney Character Voices, Inc.
- Electronic Arts Productions, Inc.
- Formosa Interactive, LLC
- Insomniac Games, Inc.
- Interactive Associates, Inc.
- Take 2 Interactive Software
- VoiceWorks Productions, Inc.
- WB Games, Inc.
Stay tuned to TechRaptor for more information on SAG-AFTRA and their strike, and the status of the video games industry.
What are your thoughts on this strike, and what the organization is trying to negotiate for? Let us know in the comment section below.
