The performers of Telemundo’s popular U.S.-produced telenovelas are celebrating after a majority of the Spanish-speaking actors voted to join the SAG-AFTRA union.
After more than a one-year intensive campaign and a secret ballot election that ran from February 7 until March 8, the mail-in votes were counted at the National Labor Relations Board Regional Office in Tampa, with a final result of 91 to 21 in favor of membership in the union.
Although approximately 500 actors work at least one day on three to four Telemundo-produced telenovelas each year, only a fraction was eligible to vote in the election.
The historic vote marks a victory for SAG-AFTRA, which has been trying to unionize Telemundo actors for years.
In a statement released following the election, Telemundo stated: “While we are disappointed with this result, we remain committed to all of our employees and will move forward with the negotiation process after the election results have been certified by the NLRB. We continue to be dedicated to making Telemundo a great place to work and to Telemundo’s long-term success.”
You can read more details of the election results and reaction by the organizing actors on Forbes.