Guest post by Laurence Bouvard
At the end of April , I was privileged to be part of an Equity delegation that traveled to Los Angeles with the aim of connecting with our sister union SAG-AFTRA as it worked through negotiations with employers on their pay and conditions in film and TV. These negotiations will have an impact on our own negotiations with PACT and with the employers that both of our unions have dealings with. Over the week, as I had the chance to observe negotiations, participate in meetings with the employers to give a member's perspective, and speak informally with our sister union colleagues, I learned that we had more in common than it first seemed. Despite working in different countries and cultures, they face many of the same issues that we do, and the differences between our working worlds are nuanced.
Shared challenges
Self-tapes
As with Equity members, SAG-AFTRA members are struggling with the complex demands of self-tapes - though I am proud to say they are using the self-tape guidelines our own Equity self-tape working party drew up. Interestingly, a hot topic of conversation was around issues with first round Zoom castings, more common in the US than in the UK, because too few slots are being allocated and members sometimes struggle to get seen. The challenges they have been facing in this regard are something we can learn from as we at Equity continue to fine tune our self-tape code of best practice.
Vertical drama
Equally, our US colleagues' attention has been caught by the meteoric rise of vertical dramas, just as ours has. While it is still very early days in this nascent industry, we had useful discussions around both the opportunities and apprehension it invokes, a dialogue with our colleagues that will be useful to carry on as further developments occur.
Artificial Intelligence
Concerns around AI were evident from everyone present. In a discussion I had with Marie Kelly, the national executive director of ACTRA(our Canadian sister who were also in attendance) she voiced her apprehension that a significant part of her members' work in dubbing – a major source of employment in that bilingual country – could be wiped out in coming years because of the threat of AI. This is an issue that our own union is currently trying to address, with the Screen and New Media and Audio Committees working together to draw up terms and conditions for dubbing, so it was fascinating to have her feedback. Others echoed our own wariness around synthetics and clones. Again, the face-to-face conversations were hugely helpful in sharing details of our disquiet in this area and troubleshooting ideas to protect members.
It was also useful to have the chance to chat with the employers on an informal basis, to tell them in person about the realities of working as a performer in the UK industry and remind them that the UK industry is as much a powerhouse of energy and talent as the one in the US. Different but not secondary.
Global solidarity
The whirlwind week of formal meetings, events, and casual conversations emphasized to me the power of in person communication in this digital age should not be underestimated. I felt that, as well as the exchange of ideas and experiences, valuable connections have been made that will serve to strengthen the bonds between our unions going forward and help us to work together to face the challenges of what is increasingly a global industry.
Update
In June 2026, SAG-AFTRA ratified a new deal for TV and film work.
The SAG-AFTRA agreement is available on their website (link). It includes strengthened AI protections including explicit protections for ‘no scan’ digital replicas, consent for dubbing, digital replica security and transfer protection, a commitment to “strongly favouring human performances” over synthetics, and more. Ournegotiations with PACT have continued in recent months and have progressed in several areas. Now the SAG deal is done, we have a global industry benchmark that we must ensure Equity members benefit from.
