AFTRA Agrees Video Game Actor Contract Extension

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) reached an agreement with video game employers on terms for a a one-year extension to the AFTRA Interactive Media Agreement, the union's agreement covering voiceover and other actors working in video games. The extension is effective January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009, and will introduce a 3 percent increase in initial compensation for all session fees, as well as a .5 percent bump in AFTRA H&R contributions. However, Variety notes that unions such as AFTRA and SAG only cover about 10-15% of the voiceover work done in the game industry -- though it's often some of the biggest franchises, such as Halo. "In addition to putting more money into AFTRA members' pockets during a time when the country faces the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, this extension agreement secures additional contributions to performers' health and pension benefits and provides continuing employment opportunities," says AFTRA's assistant national executive director Mathis Dunn Jr., who was chief negotiator for the AFTRA Interactive Media Agreement. The Screen Actors Guild contract with video game publishers will expire at the end of the year, and has not yet been renegotiated successfully.