Video game voiceover actors have long thought they’ve been underpaid and required to work under tough conditions. They’ve been negotiating a better deal with game publishers. The voice actors’ union SAG-AFTRA is now prepared to strike if a suitable agreement isn’t reached with a number of game publishers.
One of the major complaints of the negotiation is related to “Vocal Stress.” In video games, actors are often needed to provide dying sounds or other screams that can be harmful to an actor’s voice in the long term.
“Despite years of concerted effort and negotiating sessions, video game employers have steadfastly refused to reach a fair deal during our contract negotiations,” the organization said on its website, “We head back to the table Oct. 17-19 with the goal of creating a fair contract that is rooted in industry standards and best practices. Based on past experience, we are not confident management is willing to make the changes necessary to bring this contract up to the standards of our other agreements.”
The specific publishers involved in the negotiations are:
- Activision Publishing, INC.
- Disney Character Voices, INC.
- Insomniac Games, INC.
- VoiceWork Productions, INC.
- Blindlight, LLC
- Electronic Arts Productions, INC.
- Interactive Associates, INC
- WB Games, INC
- Corps of Discovery Films
- Formosa Interactive, LLC
- Take 2 Interactive Software
The contract the organization is negotiating for would cover all games produced aft February 17, 2015.
