Hollywood Labor Negotiations Ongoing

The president of the Screen Actors Guild said Monday that members of a smaller actors union should reject a proposed contract deal with Hollywood studios because a better deal could be had.

The call by SAG President Alan Rosenberg came at a rally staged as the guild tried to reach its own deal with the studios.

SAG previously asked the American Federation of Television and Radio Performers to delay a membership vote on its proposed deal, but AFTRA refused.

SAG said a delay would help it negotiate a better agreement.

Rosenberg told the crowd of several hundred people at the rally that it was "essential to vote down that AFTRA deal."

About 44,000 actors belong to both unions.

The move prompted AFTRA to warn that it might pursue legal remedies if SAG tried to "undermine or interfere with our ratification process." AFTRA members are set to vote on the new three-year contract later this month.

SAG's talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers entered its 25th day on Monday. The current contracts with both unions expire June 30.

Rosenberg told members in a message Sunday that gains sought for actors in areas such as DVD and new-media compensation were not achieved in the AFTRA contract.

AFTRA has about 70,000 members, including actors, singers, announcers and journalists. The Screen Actors Guild has about 120,000 members in movies, TV and other media.

Both AFTRA and SAG have said they want to avoid a repeat of the 110-day writers strike that ended in February. That walkout shut down production on dozens of TV shows and cost the Los Angeles-area economy an estimated $2.5 billion.
By Greg Risling