Talent agents, SAG may start talks again
Org asks tenpercenters to return to bargaining table
Only last Sunday, SAG's national board had asked tenpercenters to return to the bargaining table to fashion a new franchise agreement, which expired in April. By Tuesday afternoon, the ATA Board of Directors had passed a resolution that "authorizes the executive director to explore whether there is a sound basis for renewed, good faith negotiation with SAG on all subjects relating to a successor (master franchise) Agreement. . ."
The precise wording of the ATA resolution is significant, in that it specifically demands that the "good faith" required for negotiations to resume be applied "on all subjects" -- a clear indication that agencies are not yet ready to drop their demands for a loosening of financial interest regulations to allow tenpercenteries to seek investments from outside companies, as well as make them.
In an interview with Daily Variety, ATA exec director Karen Stuart amplified on that demand.
"We are not opposed to regulation," Stuart said, adding "We are certainly opposed to signing the old agreement -- and we won't."
In a meeting at the Universal Sheraton on Sunday, the SAG board did not completely rule out negotiations on financial interest, but declared that the bargaining should occur in a "framework" that acknowledges SAG members' opposition to easing ownership restrictions.
Stuart on Tuesday made an oblique reference to the SAG board's declaration today, saying that if SAG "wants to have a meeting, they must have people there who have the authority to assure the ATA that any resumption of negotiations would not be done in a misguided framework."
Pressed as to who that might be, Stuart demurred, citing a lack of clarity about who actually had such authority under SAG's governance.
Meanwhile, SAG's CEO Bob Pisano would say only that "we welcome the opportunity to talk with the ATA."
SAG deputy national exec director Pamm Fair said Sunday's resolution called for SAG prexy Melissa Gilbert to make recommendations to the national exec committee on which members will serve on the ATA negotiating committee. She added that a list of negotiators will be set within two weeks' time.
SAG's yet-to-be-determined ATA negotiating committee is an altogether different committee than SAG's agency relations committee, which is a policy-making committee that the union selected Richard Dreyfuss and Mike Farrell to co-chair (Daily Variety, Oct. 15) on Monday.
