A union of video game voice actors has voted "yes" on a proposed strike.
As the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) points out, this doesn't mean the union is on strike just yet. The favorable vote -- which came with a margin of 96.5% -- simply means the union's national board now has the authority to call for a strike. First, though, the workers' organization will attempt to bring video game publishers back to the bargaining table.
At issue is a collective bargaining agreement that's been in place since the 1990s. The union feels that this agreement is outdated, and doesn't appropriately address the modern-day realities and stresses of video game voice acting. Among SAG-AFTRA's proposed changes is stunt pay for recording sessions that put a strain on the actor's vocal chords and a desire to have a stunt coordinator available during performance capture sessions.
Another point of contention is SAG-AFTRA's desire for voice actors to receive "secondary payments" (i.e. royalties or residuals) when their work is featured in a successful game. The proposed bonus structure would deliver payouts at 2 million copies sold, 4 million sold, 6 million sold and 8 million sold.
While both parties have been in a media blackout during the pre-strike phase of negotiations, social media responses from the publishing side, mostly via game developers, suggests that at least some of their resistance to those demands relates to SAG-AFTRA's desire for secondary payments. This is best captured in a series of tweets from Far Cry 4 director Alex Hutchinson.
If @WilWheaton gets royalties on a game before myself or any of the others who spent years (not weeks) working on it, the system is broken.
— Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) September 23, 2015
@wilw Tthe idea that not paying royalties is equal to us not caring about vocal performance is ridiculous.
— Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) September 23, 2015
@helava @WilWheaton Profit sharing is great, but profit is a loose term, and the risk and investment is not equal across all jobs.
— Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) September 23, 2015
It's important to note here that the media blackout has made it difficult to report on the conflicts at the heart of this ongoing process. The hope is for a balanced presentation of the facts here, and any pro-union slant you're picking up on is a product of SAG-AFTRA sharing information on its website about the dispute that led to the strike vote.
Other than a handful of social media postings from both sides, the media blackout has remained in effect. This has made it difficult for us to present an accurate picture of things from the publisher perspective, though Hutchinson's tweets give an illuminating glimpse at a significant counter to the union's proposal.