Actors Avoid Strike As Union Comes to a Deal with Producers

Hollywood is waking up to good news this Independence Day: an actors' strike has been averted.

SAG-AFTRA, the actors' union, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached a deal early Tuesday morning. Terms of the deal have not been released, but according to The Hollywood Reporter the deal provides raises for actors and stunt coordinators, works out details in the funding of the union's pension plan, improves streaming residuals and creates more favorable terms for holds and periods of exclusivity, which will allow actors to work on other projects while a project they're contracted for is not in production, which is becoming increasingly important as TV seasons get shorter.

The deal is valued at $256 million, a substantial increase over the union's last deal in 2014, which was valued at $200 million. Approval is expected once the deal goes to the union's membership for ratification.

Negotiations began in May and were extended twice past the June 30 deadline.

This is the second narrowly-avoided entertainment guild strike this year -- the Writers' Guild of America came to a deal with producers in May after negotiations went down to the wire.