The Support of Hollywood Unions

In a joint statement a large group of Hollywood unions had previously announced their support of SAG-AFTRA, “For more than 18 months, the SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee has worked in good faith to reach a deal on a new contract with 10 video game producing companies. Despite the committee’s efforts, these employers – who generate billions of dollars in annual profit from 3.2 billion active gamers worldwide – failed to recognize the rights of workers to be protected against the unconstrained rise of artificial intelligence,” the statement read. “These workers have made the difficult choice to strike as they fight for basic AI protections, and we stand with them in solidarity. Our unions understand the need to fight back against the threat of AI. We call on these video game companies to acknowledge the contributions of these performers and to work toward a future where their work is valued, and their labor cannot be replaced by technology.”

A few of the unions standing behind the voice actors include the Directors Guild of America (DGA), International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 399 (IBT), and Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) to name a few. Similar to the last strike, voice actors are exempt from speaking about their current projects with the only exception being Comic-Con where actors are still allowed to promote their video games. While there, a few actors revealed that some of their demands primarily consist of being a part of discussions regarding the inclusion of AI. Deadline also has revealed the full list of the gaming companies in the strikers’ crosshairs. Those other nine companies include Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Epic Games, Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions Inc., and VoiceWorks Productions Inc.

Stay tuned for more news on this developing story.