6/09/2005
Actors In Games Have Pact
Two unions representing voice actors have reached a tentative contract agreement with video game publishers that will give workers a 36 percent pay increase over 3.5 years, the guilds said Wednesday.
Talks broke off May 13 after the publishers had refused to pay residuals, a slice of the revenue from every game that's sold on top of the one-time, up- front payments.
The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists argued those payments should be part of the contract because residuals are a common practice in Hollywood.
After the negotiations stalled, the unions sent ballots to about 2,000 of their members asking whether they should strike. The result of that vote was supposed to be released Wednesday.
However, with the tentative agreement, the final tally will not be released, said Seth Oster, a spokesman for the Screen Actors Guild.
The two sides reached middle ground as the unions decided not to ask for residuals while publishers agreed to increase the pay from the previous offer of 34.8 percent over three years to 36 percent increase over 3.5 years.
Although the latest contract offer has been accepted by the bargaining teams, it will have to be approved by executive committees of both unions, Oster said. That will likely occur in the next few weeks, he said.
Talks broke off May 13 after the publishers had refused to pay residuals, a slice of the revenue from every game that's sold on top of the one-time, up- front payments.
The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists argued those payments should be part of the contract because residuals are a common practice in Hollywood.
After the negotiations stalled, the unions sent ballots to about 2,000 of their members asking whether they should strike. The result of that vote was supposed to be released Wednesday.
However, with the tentative agreement, the final tally will not be released, said Seth Oster, a spokesman for the Screen Actors Guild.
The two sides reached middle ground as the unions decided not to ask for residuals while publishers agreed to increase the pay from the previous offer of 34.8 percent over three years to 36 percent increase over 3.5 years.
Although the latest contract offer has been accepted by the bargaining teams, it will have to be approved by executive committees of both unions, Oster said. That will likely occur in the next few weeks, he said.
