AFTRA APPROVES NEW CONTRACT

« Today's News: Our Take AFTRA OKs New Deal, Snagging SAG's Plan

With some 62 percent of its 70,000 members voting yea, AFTRA has ratified its new primetime contract, effectively throwing a wrench in the Screen Actors Guild's campaign to have its sister union veto their deal and then unite in pressuring the studios for better terms.

"We appreciate today's vote of confidence by actors in the agreement we reached with AFTRA," the AMPTP says in a statement, "and hope that it demonstrates to SAG's Hollywood leadership that there is support for the new economic relationships we have built with writers, directors and actors — and not much support for a strike, whether de facto or real."

Indeed, given AFTRA's ratification of its deal and the significant overlap between the two guilds' members, it is unlikely that SAG would be able to secure the 75 percent vote needed to authorize a strike.

Earlier on Tuesday, SAG asked the AMPTP for additional time to review the "final offer" before them. Those two parties will reconvene on Thursday. — Matt Mitovich

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Screen Actors Guild will present its response to the AMPTP’s June 30, 2008 proposal at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 10, 2008 at AMPTP headquarters in Sherman Oaks, CA.

The Screen Actors Guild national negotiating committee remains dedicated to achieving a fair TV/Theatrical contract for SAG members as soon as possible. The SAG national negotiating committee anticipates an equal effort and commitment by the employers and their representatives to achieve this goal.

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SAG NATIONAL PRESIDENT ALAN ROSENBERG STATEMENT

According to reliable press reports the AFTRA Primetime Television Exhibit A contract was past with 62.4% voting yes and 37.6% voting no.
The following is our statement to the press regarding the ratification:


Screen Actors Guild National President Alan Rosenberg Statement


Los Angeles, July 8, 2008 -- Screen Actors Guild National President Alan Rosenberg released the following statement today:

“Clearly many Screen Actors Guild members responded to our education and outreach campaign and voted against the inadequate AFTRA agreement. We knew AFTRA would appeal to its many AFTRA-only members, who are news people, sportscasters and DJs, to pass the tentative agreement covering acting jobs. In its materials, AFTRA focused that appeal on the importance of actor members’ increased contributions to help fund its broadcast members’ pension and health benefits.

Screen Actors Guild is the actors union with more than 95% of the work under this contract, jurisdiction over all motion pictures, and more than $4 billion dollars in member earnings under the SAG agreement over just the last three years.

We thank the more than 4,500 proud SAG members from all over this country who have signed the “SAG Solidarity Statement,” in support of their negotiators. The Screen Actors Guild national negotiating committee remains committed to our core institutional mission to improve the lives of actors and their families.

We will continue to address the issues of importance to actors that AFTRA left on the table and we remain committed to achieving a fair contract for SAG actors.”