SAG willing to talk to AFTRA

Guild leaders warn against contract negligence

By DAVE MCNARY

SAG's leaders have told AFTRA that they're still willing to negotiate jointly -- but only if AFTRA promises it won't undercut contracts.

SAG president Alan Rosenberg and national exec director Doug Allen have written to their AFTRA counterparts in response to AFTRA's recent moves to negotiate a primetime TV agreement on its own with the AMPTP and networks. AFTRA's said it would be ready to do so as early as March -- potentially diminishing SAG's leverage at its own subsequent negotiations, which have not yet been set.  

In a letter sent Friday to AFTRA prexy Roberta Reardon and national exec director Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, the SAG leaders said dual cardholders have been seeking answers as to whether the unions will be seeking similar terms and whether either union will offer lesser terms once those deals are concluded. Rosenberg and Allen said they're still willing to negotiate jointly with AFTRA.

"We further pledge that SAG will not modify the resulting contract for signatories without AFTRA's approval," they added. "Will AFTRA make the same pledge: to negotiate together with SAG from one package of proposals and together reach agreement with the AMPTP and further, that AFTRA will not modify the resulting contract for signatories at lesser terms without Screen Actors Guild approval?"

AFTRA reps were not immediately available to respond today, while SAG holds an emergency national board meeting to deal with its relationship with AFTRA.

Hedgpeth told SAG on Friday that she's still hoping that the performers' unions don't have to get a divorce. She said discussions earlier in the week between union officials led her to assert that AFTRA would still be willing to negotiate with SAG rather going it alone.

Hedgpeth had declared on Feb. 3 that AFTRA was planning to start a separate negotiation on primetime TV with the AMPTP in early March -- asserting that SAG had already ended the "Phase One" agreement on joint negotiations that's been in effect since 1981. She had said that SAG's efforts to seek a member referendum to end Phase One were irrelevant since SAG had already abrogated the 27-year-old pact by instituting block voting for its negotiating committee members.

But in her Friday letter, she struck a more conciliatory tone.

"AFTRA is committed to Phase One as it was originally conceived and practiced since 1981," she wrote to Allen. "AFTRA wants to support SAG in its potential return to Phase One."

She also said that it's her understanding that both unions would be ready to launch talks with the AMPTP on the primetime part of the contract by March 31. The contract expires June 30; AFTRA doesn't have coverage in the film part of the contract.

Hedgpeth also said in the letter that SAG would have to agree to continue to operate as it has previously in joint negotiations, with the unions splitting the representation on bargaining committees.

SAG had no comment about the emergency national board meeting today to deal with its relationship with AFTRA. Speculation's emerged that SAG may opt to join up with AFTRA at the bargaining table and ditch a referendum asking members to approve ending Phase One, with ballots to be sent out Feb. 22 and returned by March 14.

Since AFTRA covers only a handful of primetime shows, it would presumably have more leverage if it negotiates jointly with SAG. It's also possible that the AFL-CIO's recent move to grant AFTRA a direct charter could signal that the AFL-CIO could step in to mediate the long-running jurisdictional dispute.  

SAG's beef with AFTRA stems from the latter's refusal to reduce its 50-50 participation on the negotiating committees for film-TV and on commercials -- despite accounting for less than 10% of the earnings. SAG's complained that AFTRA has been offering producers cheaper contracts in basic cable while AFTRA has accused SAG leaders of being radical and inflexible, asserting that its "one size fits all" approach to contracts results in fewer union jobs.

SAG has about 120,000 members while AFTRA has 70,000; about 40,000 thesps are dual cardholders.