AFTRA Splits From SAG; Will Negotiate Own Deal
Union Claims SAG Engaged In Campaign Of ‘Disinformation’ And ‘Disparagement’
By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 3/30/2008 10:34:00 AM
On the eve of what was supposed to be a joint campaign to negotiate a new contract for actors, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has split ranks with the Screen Actors Guild and will negotiate on its own on behalf of its 70,000 members.
AFTRA represents actors, including those in daytime soaps; singers and recording artists, dancers, announcers, reality show performers and other categories. It has also organized some basic cable series, such as FX's Rescue Me.
The union is miffed that SAG recently approached the cast of The Bold and the Beautiful in an effort to get that shop to decertify AFTRA in favor of SAG, according to AFTRA. SAG represents 120,000 actors in television and movies.
Roberta Reardon, national president of AFTRA, issued a statement Saturday stating her union has spent a lot of time over the last year hammering out joint bargaining points with SAG so the two unions could approach the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers with "total and unequivocal unity."
"Unfortunately, SAG leadership has made this impossible. For the past year, SAG leadership in Hollywood has engaged in a relentless campaign of disinformation and disparagement..." she said. Because of the decertification attempt, AFTRA has no confidence in SAG leadership's ability to live up to the partnership agreement between the two unions, Reardon added.
In February, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney recorded an official welcome to the union, making it a fully chartered member of the nation’s largest labor federation.
In response to the AFTRA decision March 29, SAG President Alan Rosenberg said, "We remain focused on negotiating the best terms for actors covered by the TV/Theatrical Contract. We spent weeks working with our fellow actors in AFTRA on joint proposals to improve the lives of all working actors. AFTRA's refusal now to bargain together with us and their last-second abandonment of the joint process is calculated, cynical and may serve the interests of their institution, but not its members."
After the schism was announced, the AMPTP released a statement noting it asked on Feb. 14, after the conclusion of the strike by the Writers Guild of America, for the actors to begin early contract negotiations.
"Today we are pleased that to learn that AFTRA is also ready to begin talks immediately. We are determined, as we have always been, to work hard and bargain reasonably with the actors' unions so that we can all avoid another harmful, unnecessary strike," the statement said.
The current contracts for SAG and AFTRA expire July 1.
SAG Puts Off Response To AMPTP Contract
07/08/2008AFTRA Approves Three-Year AMPTP Pact
07/08/2008AFTRA Delays Contract Talks With Producers
04/23/2008
