New York — Actors’ Equity Association, the national union representing more than 51,000 professional actors, stage managers and others working in live entertainment, offers its full support to the SAG-AFTRA members in the video game industry who are currently on strike.
After more than a year and a half of bargaining, these performers are striking against some of the largest video game companies in the industry. The major concern of these workers is the use of artificial intelligence in video games and the needs for guardrails that protect performers’ likenesses from being used without their active participation or fair compensation.
“Equity stands with the striking members of SAG-AFTRA,” said Actors’ Equity Association President Brooke Shields. “Video game performers, like all performers, deserve to be protected as artists and workers. SAG-AFTRA is taking an important stand against the unchecked use of artificial intelligence trained on the labor of working actors. The actors who bring beloved video game characters to life are no different from those of us who work on stage or screen, and they deserve a contract that guarantees fair compensation and the right of informed consent to the use of their images and performances.”
Equity joins voices across the labor movement in calling for the struck companies to return to the bargaining table and offer a fair contract to SAG-AFTRA performers that will bring this strike to a just resolution.
ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity endeavors to advance the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits (health and pension included). Member: AFL-CIO, FIA. www.actorsequity.org #EquityWorks
July 29, 2024
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