Animation Performers Approve New SAG-AFTRA Contracts With 94.95% Yes Vote

Members of SAG-AFTRA, the union for actors and other performers, have approved new contracts covering animated TV shows, with 94.95% voting in favour. Deadline reported the ratification on 30 October 2026. The deals are the 2026 Television Animation Agreement and the Basic Cable Animation Agreement, both negotiated with the AMPTP, the group that bargains for the studios and streaming companies that hire performers.

The contracts run for four years and expire on 30 June 2030. They take effect retroactively from 1 July 2026, which means the new terms apply from a date before the vote was held. Retroactive pay is paid back to the start date, so performers who worked during that period are covered.

According to Deadline, the contracts provide a 12.6% wage increase over their term. They also bring gains in residuals, which are extra payments made when a finished programme is reused or sold again. Contributions to the union's health plan and its pension and retirement plans are also set to rise.

The deals include enhanced protections around the use of artificial intelligence. In practice, that means new rules on how companies can use AI in relation to the work of performers. The specific wording of those rules is set out in the contract itself.

The previous animation agreement, approved in 2023 by 95.52% of members, ran for three years. SAG-AFTRA's Executive Committee, the union's governing board, unanimously approved the 2026 agreement on 9 October. The AMPTP has congratulated the union on the ratification.

For the performers who voice animated characters, the result sets pay, benefits and working rules through mid-2030. It also means the studios and streamers that commission animated series now operate under one shared set of terms for that period.