Aftra Ratifies Deal; SAG To Follow?
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The labor drama gripping Hollywood is entering its final act after one actors group said its members ratified a new deal and the other prepared to turn down the major studios’ final offer.
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced that its members had ratified a three-year prime-time TV contract with studios, with 62% of voting members supporting it, after fierce opposition from the larger Screen Actors Guild. The deal goes into effect retroactive to July 1.
SAG, which said approval of the deal would undermine its own talks, responded by saying its bargaining was not yet done.
“We will continue to address the issues of importance to actors that AFTRA left on the table,” the SAG president, Alan Rosenberg, said in a statement.
That left Hollywood in limbo about whether there would be a replay of the 100-day writers’ strike that ended in February. SAG, with 120,000 members, represents the vast majority of actors in prime-time TV and movies, and still could throw the industry into turmoil. Aftra has 70,000 members, including actors, singers, announcers, and journalists. SAG and Aftra share 44,000 dual members.
Talks between SAG and the producers have largely stopped since the expiration of the actors’ contract on June 30, but the guild has not called for a strike authorization vote. The alliance, representing major studios under companies such as Viacom Inc. and the Walt Disney Co., is set to meet with SAG today to discuss the producers’ final offer.