SAG-AFTRA’s national board unanimously ratified a tentative agreement for an intimacy coordinator contract, marking the first collective bargaining agreement for the evolving profession.
The agreement gives intimacy coordinators, organizing under SAG-AFTRA, wage protections and the access necessary to best complete their jobs on scripted television, theatrical and streaming productions. The deal was reached during a single-day video conference among SAG-AFTRA’s national board on Thursday.
“This is a significant and long-awaited achievement for intimacy coordinators and for our union as a whole,” SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said. “These professionals deserve the same kind of protections and benefits that other workers in our industry enjoy, and a SAG-AFTRA contract will help create more stable, sustainable careers for them. This agreement recognizes their essential contributions and establishes a safer, more equitable future for both intimacy coordinators and the performers they support.”
The deal gives intimacy coordinators access to participate and contribute in the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan, SAG-Producers Pension Plan and AFTRA Retirement Fund on the same terms as found in the Codified Basic Agreement and Television Agreement, as well as guaranteed daily and weekly minimum rates guaranteed to increase at the same pace as those agreements. Overtime provisions are additionally in place for those who work more than 40 hours a week and/or eight hours a day.
On top of these labor protections, the SAG-AFTRA agreement gives intimacy coordinators better access and guarantees to perform the essential functions of their jobs overseeing intimacy and sex scenes on set. This means granting intimacy coordinators “visual access” to the performance of these scenes. Additionally, intimacy coordinators are given access to final nudity/simulated sex riders in actors’ contracts as well as studio rules and guidelines for said scenes.
“This is a transformative step for our profession. A union contract provides stability, protections and a sustainable path forward for intimacy coordinators,” Intimacy Coordinator Negotiating Committee Chair Alicia Rodis said. “We love this work and believe deeply in its importance, and this agreement helps ensure that those doing it can build long-term careers in a safe and supportive environment.”
This ratification is an important step in an evolving profession, one that is still being understood by those in and out of Hollywood. In recent years, stories have been frequent about actors’ and filmmakers’ feelings on the necessity of intimacy coordinators on-set.
“Today’s ratification affirms the vital work intimacy coordinators do every day to safeguard performers, foster trust on set, and support honest, powerful storytelling,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator, said. “This first contract recognizes their professionalism, expertise and indispensable role in creating respectful and safe working environments. It is a meaningful acknowledgment of work that has too often been invisible, and which now takes its rightful place on stage.”
The agreement will go into effect for any films and seasons of television that begin principal photography after Feb. 22, 2026.
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