AFTRA: Contract negotiations may not be easy

updated 7:40 p.m. ET May 19, 2008

LOS ANGELES - An actors union locked in contract talks with Hollywood producers dampened expectations of a speedy deal, saying Monday that negotiations may not be quick or easy.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said in an e-mail to members that challenging issues remained as the negotiations entered their ninth day on a contract covering some prime-time TV shows.

“We are confronting a number of challenging issues, and a resolution may not be quick or easy,” AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said in the e-mail. “However, our discussions with the industry have been professional and businesslike, and we remain focused on continuing negotiations in this vein.”

Among the sticking points are a push by studios to gain full control of clips containing the images of actors for use on the Internet.

The federation said it has delivered a strong message on the issue.

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“Performers will not relinquish consent for excerpts in new media, which would compromise the integrity of members’ work, their reputations, or their employability,” Reardon said in the e-mail.

The union did not elaborate and said it would stick by a self-imposed media blackout.

The producers, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, declined to comment.

AFTRA began talks with the alliance on May 7 amid expectations that a tentative agreement would likely be reached quickly. The current three-year contract expires June 30.

The alliance has also held an initial round of talks with the Screen Actors Guild that temporarily ended without an agreement. Those talks are set to resume by May 28.

The two sides parted ways last week after 18 days of talks over a contract that covers movies and prime-time TV shows. That contract also ends June 30.

During the talks with SAG, producers said getting consent from actors to use images was cumbersome. In lieu of permission, the alliance offered to pay a percentage of revenue generated from their use.

All sides have said they want to avoid a repeat of the 100-day writers strike that halted production of dozens of TV shows and temporarily shut down the industry.

In March, AFTRA announced it would negotiate its prime-time TV contract with Hollywood producers separate from SAG for the first time in 27 years after a nasty dispute over accusations that SAG attempted to poach members.

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The tone was considerably subdued in the new e-mail, with Reardon calling her SAG counterparts “our brothers and sisters in the guild.”

The Screen Actors Guild has 120,000 members, while AFTRA represents 70,000 members. The two unions share 44,000 dual members.

SAG represents actors in movies, TV and other media. The TV and radio federation represents, among others, actors, singers, announcers and journalists.

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