AFTRA Votes for Deal With Hollywood Producers

Members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) have ratified a new contract with Hollywood studios that boosts payments for actors whose work appears on the Internet. AFTRA said in results disclosed Tuesday that 62.4 percent of voting members approved the three-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The vote comes amid fierce opposition by the rival Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the last major Hollywood union still negotiating with the studios for a new three-year contract. SAG contended a separate deal with AFTRA would dilute its clout at the bargaining table.

SAG represents 120,000 actors in movies, TV and other media. The TV and radio federation has 70,000 members including actors, singers, announcers and journalists. SAG and AFTRA share 44,000 dual members.

The contracts of both unions expired June 30, but both agreed with the studios to keep working under the old terms to avoid a shutdown of the entertainment industry.

Actors Guild Agrees To Deal With Film Company

The Screen Actors Guild has agreed to let members work for one independent film company if actors strike against major movie studios within months, and similar deals with other firms could ease pressure on small film and TV producers. The “interim agreement” was signed with The Film Department as negotiations between SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) continued on Thursday with no word from either party on any progress.

Spokespeople for SAG and the AMPTP, who began new contract talks earlier this week, declined to comment on the interim agreement, and it was unclear if other independent companies had approached SAG about similar agreements.

Mark Gill, who heads The Film Department, said his company approached SAG with the idea, and that the “interim agreement” was similar to deals the Writers Guild of America signed with some independent producers late last year allowing them to work during a crippling 100-day writers strike. Read the rest of this entry