SAG-AFTRA Reaches a Tentative Agreement to Succeed the Theatrical and Television Agreements, Subject to Board Approval and SAG-AFTRA Member Ratification

On May 2, 2026, SAG-AFTRA announced that in its recent negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (“the AMPTP”), it had reached a tentative agreement to succeed two of its major collective bargaining agreements covering much of filmmaking and television production, respectively:

• the Theatrical Agreement (aka “the Codified Basic Agreement”), and
• the Television Agreement (aka “the TV Agreement”).

Most union stand-in jobs happen under these contracts.

These tentative agreements aren’t in effect yet. So, what’s next?

What’s Next

Before this tentative agreement can go into effect, at least two major obstacles must be hurdled.

First, SAG-AFTRA’s National Board must approve the tentative agreement. There is no known public indication that the Union’s National Board won’t approve this tentative agreement. From the outside, it seems the National Board rubberstamps tentative agreements without much dissent among the board members.

Second, if SAG-AFTRA’s National Board approves the tentative agreement, the Union will present SAG-AFTRA members with a referendum on whether to ratify the tentative agreement. If a simple majority of members vote “yes” on the referendum, the tentative agreements will be ratified and go into effect on the date(s) mentioned in the tentative agreements. If a simple majority of members vote “no” on the referendum, the tentative agreements will not be ratified, and so they will not go into effect.

In the event of a majority “no” vote, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP must go back to collectively bargaining for a new tentative agreement. Then, if they reach a new tentative agreement, it too would be subject to National Board approval and member ratification vote. So, in effect, in such a case, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP would have to reach a new tentative agreement that would get the support of both bodies.

SAG-AFTRA members typically submit a majority “yes” vote, after the Union whips up its members to vote “yes” or otherwise participate in voting. So, as of publication, there is no indication that if the National Board approves the tentative agreement, SAG-AFTRA members will vote down the tentative agreement.  In other words, as of publication, the likelihood is that SAG-AFTRA members would vote as a majority to ratify this tentative agreement.

Basis

This conduct and progression accords with the SAG-AFTRA Constitution.

Its Article XI, “Collective Bargaining,” covers the topic, specifically its Section B, “Approval of Collective Bargaining Agreements.” Section B has two subsections which read:

1. All multi-employer collective bargaining agreements that are national in scope shall be approved by the National Board and submitted for ratification by the members affected thereby. Such ratification may be made either (a) by majority vote of the members voting in a referendum conducted by mail or electronic means under policies and procedures established by the National Board, or (b) by majority vote of the members voting in meetings held in accordance with policies and procedures established by the National Board.

2. Membership ratification shall not be required for any collective bargaining agreement that the National Board determines is not to be used in widespread or industry-wide application affecting a substantial portion of the membership and interim contracts that are of short duration or that reflect the Union’s last, best and final offer to an existing employer or employer group. Such agreements shall require approval by either sixty percent (60%) of the votes of the National Board present and voting or sixty percent (60%) of the votes of the Executive Committee present and voting. This provision shall not affect Local collective bargaining agreements that are subject to ratification by the affected members of the Local pursuant to the Local Constitution.

The Theatrical and Television Agreements are multi-employer collective bargaining agreements that are national in scope, so according to Article XI(B)(1), a majority of SAG-AFTRA members must vote in a referendum on them. The National Board sets the policies and procedures for such a referendum. Alternatively, the National Board could have SAG-AFTRA members vote in meetings according with policies and procedures the National Board sets, but this is highly unlikely to happen.

Because the Theatrical and Television Agreements are national in scope (i.e., “widespread” and having “industry-wide application”), Article XI(B)(2) does not apply.

Possible Dates

The current Theatrical and Television Agreements are still in effect through June 30, 2026.

In all likelihood, the tentative agreement will have a succession date covering July 1, 2026, and onward.  Typically, these collective bargaining agreements are negotiated to cover three-year periods. However, at this time, it is unknown if that will be the case for this tentative agreement, especially considering the Writers Guild recently negotiated with the AMPTP a four-year deal rather than a three-year deal.

If you have any insights into the changes to the Theatrical and Television Agreements as found in the announced tentative agreement — especially as they pertain to stand-ins — please share the details in the comments box below!