SAG, AFTRA bicker over basic cable

Acting unions currently bargain separate deals

By DAVE MCNARY

With formal negotiations looming on the feature-primetime contract for actors, SAG and AFTRA are bickering over whether basic cable should be included in the negotiations.

The latest disagreement emerged over the weekend following recent moves by both performers unions to negotiate jointly rather than separately. And it comes in the wake of the AMPTP's request last week to start negotiations on April 1 -- three months before expiration of the current pact.

SAG national exec director Doug Allen sparked the imbroglio in a letter sent Friday to AFTRA topper Kim Roberts Hedgpeth. In the missive, Allen asserted that the unions could decide over the next two weeks that basic cable would be part of the negotiations "as we have proposed in past negotiations."

SAG and AFTRA currently bargain separate deals with basic cable companies -- a situation that has led to near-constant sniping between the two labor orgs. Allen noted in the missive that at a meeting earlier this month with AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, AFTRA president Roberta Reardon acknowledged that basic cable is part of the 27-year-old Phase One joint bargaining agreement between the two unions.

AFTRA fired back on Sunday in a response that highlighted the ongoing bad blood between the unions. Labor observers have been wondering over the past year how effectively the two unions will be able to negotiate together given their long history of acrimony.

In this case, AFTRA accused SAG of focusing on peripheral issues when it should be prepping for the negotiations and hinted that it could still make good on its threat to negotiate a separate primetime deal. Reardon had insisted in a March 4 letter that SAG make clear that it would agree to joint bargaining with AFTRA with no additional conditions.

AFTRA leaders have been irked that SAG was insisting that AFTRA promise to stop offering lower initial rates on basic cable shows -- long a sore spot for SAG leaders -- as a condition of joint bargaining.

"AFTRA asked SAG for a simple, unambiguous written response to president Reardon that stated its commitment to bargain jointly under the Phase One agreement with no changes, conditions or extraneous issues attached," an AFTRA spokesman said Sunday. "We are still waiting."

Allen had said in his letter that the issue of joint bargaining for basic cable could also be implemented after the unions reach a deal with the AMPTP. SAG's portion of the basic cable contract will expire June 30. AFTRA said Sunday that the basic cable issue is "extraneous."

"As we have noted before and discussed at length, the application of the Phase One agreement in basic cable is a complex matter raising legal and practical issues, which we are open to addressing after the primetime television negotiations are completed and a contract has been ratified," the AFTRA spokesman said.

AFTRA also complained that SAG has failed to confirm in writing a commitment not to hold a referendum to alter or terminate Phase One in the midst of negotiations. SAG's national board pulled the plug on a referendum on Feb. 9. AFTRA said the omission raises questions as to the reliability of SAG's commitment to conclude the "wages and working conditions" process and negotiations under the Phase One agreement.

"AFTRA has previously confirmed in writing its commitment to proceed expeditiously to conclude the W&W process and negotiate jointly with SAG, and we are disappointed that SAG has not done the same," the spokesman said. "AFTRA's members remain solely focused on pursuing a successful contract negotiation that serves the needs and desires of all members in a timely fashion."

Allen, who's also serving as SAG's lead negotiator, was noncommittal last week when AMPTP president Nick Counter proposed the April 1 start date, saying that he needed to consult the SAG board, AFTRA and the joint SAG/AFTRA board before responding. SAG agreed last week to set March 25 and 26 as dates for joint meetings of the wages and working conditions panels and March 29 as the date for a joint national board meeting to develop the proposal package for negotiations with the AMPTP.

Ever since the WGA strike ended on Feb. 12, SAG has been under pressure from high-profile members to start negotiations as soon as possible. The AMPTP announced Feb. 14 that it was ready to start bargaining with the actors.