What do Nick Kroll
(Big Mouth), Laraine Newman
(The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants), Pamela Adlon
(King of the Hill), Nancy Cartwright
(The Simpsons), Mindy Sterling
(Chowder), Cassandra Peterson
(Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), Ed Asner
(The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Patton Oswalt
(Ratatouille), and Dan Castellanata
(The Simpsons), all have in common? Well, not only are they all voice actors but they're all voice actors who think they deserve to get paid for their work, imagine that!
Specifically, we're talking about equal scaling and residual pay for voice actors that is guaranteed in the union contracts for actors. As it stands, the terms for streaming services like Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix are severely lacking for voice actors since producers are choosing not to offer residuals or scale minimums for animated series that are made for streaming platforms.
Since contracts expired over a year ago (June 20, 2017), and negotiations have stalled between the entertainment companies and the union, that means voice actors have been working under expired contracts. 22 new animated series have gone into production for subscription-based streaming services since the
SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) contract expired last year, which is only one less than those being produced for basic cable, very clearly further addressing the urgency of this issue.
Following Boomerang, there will be Disney and then DC's own streaming service, meaning that voice actors now, more than ever, are going to need protection for their work, and that is why a strike authorization has been seen as necessary from
SAG-AFTRA at this time. The union asks its members who work in the field of voice acting to stand together for a strike authorization, and they must cast their vote by July 18th. 75% of voters must approve of the strike authorization in order for the
SAG-AFTRA's National Board to approve a strike.
"Animation performers need the power of a strike authorization to avoid losing the hard-fought gains that generations of performers before them have struggled to win. That is why the National Board has unanimously recommended that you vote YES to authorize a strike, if necessary, of these agreements. A strike authorization does not mean that a strike will necessarily happen, but it gives animation performers an additional tool to negotiate their contracts.
Because that work (the 22 streaming shows which entered into production last year) is not covered by the traditional terms of our TV Animation Agreements, our animation performers do not have the benefit of scale minimums when they work on these programs, the overwhelming majority of which will never pay residuals for any new media exhibition. In other words, when you go to work on an animated program made for new media, the producer can pay you as little as you are willing to accept and will likely be able to use the program on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, etc. for subscribers to view or customers to pay to download forever without ever paying you a residual."
- Gabrielle Carteris, Union President, Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)
It all seems pretty straightforward there in the letter. It isn't too difficult to imagine actors wanting to be paid for the work they do when it is appreciated, but what do YOU think? Let us know in the comments below!