SAG, AFTRA Joint Board Approves Three-Year Contract
$2.9 Billion Deal For Commercials Still Must Be Approved By Union Members
By John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 4/19/2009 7:32:41 AM
The joint board of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has approved a new, three-year contract covering commercials on TV and radio. The vote was unanimous.
The agreement, which covers TV, radio, Internet and new media play, will result in a $36 million increase in payments.
The total value of the joint contract is put at $2.9 billion, said the unions in a statement.
There will also be a two-year study on whether compensation should be tied to ratings.
The contracts still have to voted on by the rank and file, with the unions saying they will conduct joint informational meetings around the country to answer any questions.
Formal negotiations on the contract began Feb. 23 and ended April 1 with the tentative deal.
The performers unions and advertising industry last August agreed to a five-month extension on commercial performer contracts to March 31, 2009, while the two sides continued to jointly study alternative compensation methods in the digital age. They had been working a two-year contract extension agreed that would have expired Oct. 29, 2008.
The joint board approval comes as SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached a tentative accord on successor pacts to the producer-SAG codified basic agreement on April 17. Details of the two-year agreement covering TV programs and films will be reviewed by the SAG national board of directors on April 19, at a previously scheduled board meeting via videoconference in Los Angeles and New York.
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