LOS ANGELES With the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists reaching a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers after round-the-clock talks during Memorial Day weekend, attention now turns to whether the Screen Actors Guild will follow the lead of its sister union as it revs up talks for its prime-time/theatrical contract. SAG and AFTRA contracts with Hollywood producers expire June 30.
SAG returned to the table Wednesday after a three-week break following suspension of formal talks with the studios' organization, the AMPTP, which began April 15. AFTRA, which had twice postponed its talks so that SAG could continue bargaining, started its negotiations with the producers May 7 and reached its tentative agreement early Wednesday morning.
In a statement, SAG president Alan Rosenberg said he did not know the details of the AFTRA/AMPTP deal but, along with staff, would "thoroughly analyze and evaluate the principles" of the agreement.
Despite Rosenberg's inability to immediately sit down with his sister union's negotiators, SAG almost certainly will be under great pressure to conform with the template provided by AFTRA as well as with those of the earlier contracts for Hollywood writers and directors.
The tentative AFTRA contract, set for review by the union's national board June 6-7, does not stray far from those already negotiated this year by other entertainment guilds. AFTRA did bargain an increase in wages for traditional media, more contributions by employers to the union's health and pension plan and preservation and coverage of low-budget programs. Much of the contract focused on the ever-changing Internet landscape and includes a "sunset provision" allowing both sides to revisit new-media issues within the three-year agreement.
"It's really a victory," AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said Wednesday. "All this 'made for new media' stuff is brand new, and nobody knows what it's going to look like in the future. We need to have some structure there, to make sure our members can participate."
With the sunset provision, Reardon said it was important for both sides to realize that the industry is in "an experimental period" when it comes to new media. The ability to come back to the table on new media allows both AFTRA and the AMPTP to take "a very forthcoming look at the deal and see how the business is working.
"The studios understand that it's changing," she said. "It's easier for everybody to negotiate together instead of against each other."
But while solidarity may be a future goal, SAG still has to negotiate solo its prime-time/theatrical contract. AFTRA voted to suspend its joint bargaining agreement with SAG prior to formal talks starting up in April. And while SAG boasts more members, the union's leaders have acknowledged that it will be harder to push key issues like consent for clip use.
Industry watchers echo the sentiment.
"There's going to be a lot of pressure on them with the AFTRA deal," Troy Gould entertainment attorney Jonathan Handel said. "SAG is going to be a slow process where it may go past June 30 and we may be in a de facto lockout."
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