Actors Union Approves Pact With Producers
By LAUREN A.E. SCHUKER, July 9, 2008; Page B8
Members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists approved their new contract with a 62.4% majority. In recent weeks, the Aftra vote became something of a referendum on the actors’ desire to continue negotiating for a better contract with the studios, as the two unions share about 44,000 members. SAG, currently embroiled in difficult talks with Hollywood studios, campaigned vigorously against the new Aftra deal as a means of demonstrating that its members are willing to aggressively pursue better terms in their own contract — even on the heels of a crippling 100-day strike by screenwriters last winter.

Studios Weigh Options Amid Strike Uncertainty
By LAUREN A.E. SCHUKER and PETER SANDERS, July 10, 2008; Page B3
In the midst of unresolved contract negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild, Hollywood studios are weighing whether to declare an impasse and, in some cases, are preparing to push ahead with planned projects despite uncertainty over a possible strike.

The steps seem to indicate film and TV producers believe the prospects of a strike by the Screen Actors Guild have been diminished by recent events. On Tuesday, members of another actors’ union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, ratified its contract with the studios, leaving SAG as the only major Hollywood union without a contract.

SAG will meet with the studios on Thursday afternoon to discuss a final offer on the table, but SAG leadership has said it is still unhappy with that deal. SAG leadership has said the vote on the Aftra contract, which was ratified by 62.4% of the members who voted, shows a significant group of actors are not satisfied with that deal, and that they will continue to fight for better terms.

Hollywood Producers Say SAG Rejects Contract Offer
Associated Press, July 11, 2008
The two sides met privately for more than five hours before the AMPTP released a statement saying the guild was “unreasonably” seeking more than other unions. The session came as actors continue to work under a contract that expired last month.

The studios made their final offer last week, saying it provided $250 million in additional compensation over three years. The studios said they will not make any pay increases retroactive to July 1 if the deal is not ratified by Aug. 15.

SAG, the largest and most powerful actors union, represents 120,000 actors in movies, TV and other media. It is seeking greater compensation for DVDs, something neither writers, directors nor a smaller actors union could secure in negotiations.

LOS ANGELES — Leaders of Hollywood’s second-largest actors union approved a new contract with studios that grants actors more money for Internet work — an issue that sparked a crippling writers strike this year.

The board of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists approved the three-year deal late Friday, and it will go to the union’s 70,000 members for ratification this month, the union said Saturday. The existing contract was set to end June 30.

The agreement “makes sense for all performers,” AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon said in the statement. “AFTRA members now have the opportunity to vote ‘yes’ for higher pay, improved working conditions, and continued right of consent for use of excerpts in New Media.”

The deal covers only a handful of prime-time TV shows, including HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” the CBS drama “Rules of Engagement” and ABC’s “Cashmere Mafia.”

The 120,000-member Screen Actors Guild, which is the larger and more combative of Hollywood’s two actor unions, continues to negotiate with the studios. It still has the power to shut down Hollywood film production.

The AFTRA agreement largely followed a script laid out in contracts approved by directors in January and by writers after their 100-day strike ended in February. It establishes higher fees for downloaded content and residual payments for ad-supported streams and clips. It also sets a 90-day deadline after ratification for developing a system for actors to consent to the online use of clips containing their images or voices.

SAG had pushed for more concessions by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The two unions had agreed to the same starting proposals but took different tacks with the studios, the first time they had negotiated separately for the first time in 27 years. About 44,000 actors are members of both unions.

In March, AFTRA accused SAG of trying to entice actors in the soap drama “The Bold and the Beautiful” to abandon the federation and said it was “in the best interests of our members” to deal with the studios on its own.

AFTRA began its own negotiations on May 7 after SAG temporarily suspended its studio talks. AFTRA’s board gave tentative approval to the contract on May 28, and hours later SAG returned to the bargaining table.

In its statement Saturday, AFTRA said its board rejected a SAG request to delay ratification of the new contract until SAG concluded its own negotiations. AFTRA’s board also warned that it might pursue “legal remedies” if SAG tried to “undermine or interfere with our ratification process.”

A call to a SAG spokeswoman seeking comment was not immediately returned Saturday.

The union said early Wednesday that the deal establishes fees for content streamed and downloaded over the Internet and preserves actors’ rights of consent on the use of their voices and images in online clips.

The agreement over a handful of prime-time TV shows such as “Curb Your Enthusiasm” will last through June 2011 if it is approved AFTRA’s national board and ratified by members.

The deal greatly reduces the chance of an actors strike, although larger of the two actors unions, the Screen Actors Guild, is set to resume its stalled talks with the studios Wednesday morning.