Details of the AFTRA-AMPTP deal
As mentioned earlier on my HollywoodIdiocy blog, AFTRA, one of two actors unions active in Hollywood, reached a tentative three-year deal with the AMPTP today, the first sign of hope that a second major labor stoppage in Hollywood might be averted. AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, controls only about a dozen programs on cable or prime time television, so it’s small potatoes compared to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), which controls pretty much all other television, but it’s a step in the right direction.
“This is a challenging time in the entertainment industry and this was a tough negotiation,” AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said in a statement. “We recognized the hard realities currently affecting the traditional TV business and we focused on creating framework that would allow union members to participate fully in the emerging new media marketplace.”
The new contract contains these advances for AFTRA members:
+ Actor’s consent must be given for use of clips outside of promotional use. This includes clips used in online media and represents a concession on the part of AMPTP, which was hoping to get rid of the consent clause.
+ Although details on residuals for new media are sketchy as I write this, word is that AFTRA’s deal includes a new media compensation package similar to the deals reached by the DGA and WGA; like all those others, no increase to DVD residuals was offered, a concession on the part of AFTRA, but one that is in-step with the DGA and WGA deals.
+ Establishes union jurisdiction for programming created for Web or other new media distribution. Includes a new structure and increases in residuals for paid Internet downloads (e.g. iTunes) and other new media forms of distribution.
+ Wage increases in traditional media, as well as increases to the employer contribution portion of health and retirement plan benefits.
In all, it appears at this hour to be a fair deal for both sides; AFTRA scores credibility by being the first of the two actors unions to break through on retaining actor’s consent on clip use as well as winning Internet jurisdiction for its union, and both sides gave some ground while gaining ground.
At this point, the ball is now in SAG’s court; they could continue to play hard ball and force a strike in Hollywood, but now could face membership loss if they do so, as some shows could hold votes to decertify with SAG and certify under AFTRA, in order to stay in production, in the event of a SAG strike.
Or, SAG could recognize the writing is on the wall for this three-year stretch, sign a deal similar to AFTRA’s, keep Hollywood working, retain its stranglehold on most prime time and cable shows, and aim for the next round of negotiations in 2011 to make their next stand for making significant strides.
Given that AMPTP now has an actors deal in place with AFTRA, it is unlikely AMPTP would surrender major new concessions to SAG that were not given to AFTRA. So go ahead and invest in that leather home theater seating arrangement for the fall TV season: unless SAG gets really pig-headed, it looks like TV will be back to normal this fall!
Tags: AFTRA, AFTRA-SAG Strike 2008, AMPTP, leather home theater seating, SAG
May 29th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Good news! Thank you! Now I won’t worry anymore about an actor’s strike… hopefully!
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