Actor strikewatch update

The possibility of a strike remains in Hollywood, as the Screen Actors Guild yesterday rejected the "final offer" from the producers' group AMPTP. The current contract expired at the end of June 30, although SAG did not strike and the producers did not lock out the actors. The producers had given their ultimatum, a "final offer" just before the contract lapsed. As expected, the proposal made no movement on the actors' key demands on DVD payments and new media.

On July 8, AFTRA, the sister actors' union, announced that is members had ratified a new contract with the producers, something SAG had campaigned heavily against. SAG is perceived to have less leverage now, although their spin is that the ratification percentage was unusually low (62.4% rather than >90%), and the vote included members of AFTRA who are not actors. The vote was also an indicator to SAG about the level of support for a possible strike authorization vote among its own members (which would require 75% voting yes), because about 40000 actors are members in both actor unions; the conclusion of the vote casts some doubt on SAG's ability to launch a strike.

Yesterday on July 10, SAG officially rejected the producers' final offer, as expected (and offered their own compromise in the form of a counterproposal, although technically the producers aren't even listening after their final offer). But all of Hollywood, including the producers and actors, is loathe to strike after weathering the recent WGA strike. California governor Arnold Schawzenegger and LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa have openly offered their services as mediators. The producers have stated they are through with negotiating after giving their final offer-- SAG states it is ready to continue negotiating. The impasse may continue through the late summer, although if it continues until September, it may affect the Emmy Awards, which the producers would likely rather avoid; it would also delay the starting of production for Lost's Season 5.

Read more at Variety here and here and the NY Times here

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SAG, Producers, reschedule negotiations

The producers and SAG (Screen Actors Guild), which covers Lost and nearly all of primetime TV)), announced Wednesday (link) that they would resume their negotiations for a primetime contract in less than two weeks, on or before May 28. These negotiations had been halted May 6 (with SAG protesting that a deal was close, link) when the producers switched tracks to begin negotiations with the sister actors union AFTRA (American Federation of Television & Radio Artists), which today continue their 9th day of negotiations.

By May 28, the less-demanding AFTRA is expected to have hammered out a contract, and SAG can begin. Whether or not a strike come June 30 is likely is still up in the air, but the planned resumption of talks can only be good news, as Lost Season 5 is slated to begin production late this summer. If you're just learning about this news, you can catch up with our summary here.

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Actor talks stall without deal

The negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the producers group (AMPTP) ended today without a deal for a new primetime contract (link). The current contract expires in just under eight weeks on June 30, after which a strike (and a delay to the start of filming of Lost Season 5 in August) becomes a possible outcome.

The talks had been repeatedly extended, with the most recent extension last Friday due to a promising thaw in some no-compromise issues. However the talks are now indefinitely postponed as the AMPTP now turns to negotiating with AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), the sister actors union which recently divorced SAG for the purpose of joint bargaining. A new round of talks with SAG are not scheduled, although the talks with AFTRA may well end with a deal in only two weeks.

If you haven't been keeping up with the issue, the vast majority of prime-time television, including Lost, are under SAG contracts. The primary area of dispute are payments for DVDs, and new media including downloads and ad-supported streaming.

There are some reasons to believe a strike is not necessarily imminent come June 30. The producers axed the prospect of further negotiations with SAG today, despite SAG's statements that a deal was close; therefore it may be only a pressure tactic when in reality the two sides are closer than ever. Hollywood is still reeling from the recent writer's strike, and it is not a certain prospect that SAG would be able to generate a landslide vote among its own members to actually authorize a strike. Furthermore, SAG may be loathe to strike since it would mean the now-unfriendly sister union AFTRA may gain a larger footprint in prime-time, and a large head start in digital media, the promising new wild-west frontier of acting jurisdiction. However AFTRA is expected to have lesser demands, and it is possible the producers might be unlikely to give SAG more than it gives AFTRA, a scenario which might cause deadlock and a strike.

Anything is still possible. Let's hope for a speedy resolution well in advance of June 30, but for now, stay tuned to the negotiations with AFTRA, as these will affect SAG's future efforts. But for tonight, it's definitely not good news as the end of talks without a deal will do little to settle the nerves of Hollywood.

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A breath of hope: SAG talks extended with progress

Friday ended with some good news: progress on the primetime contract talks between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the producers. These already extended talks had been scheduled to end yesterday, and there were ominous signs of deadlock. However the end of talks on Friday brought the good news that progress had indeed been made, and under this circumstance, both sides agreed to extend the bargaining again, through this weekend until Tuesday.

The first sign of give-and-take bargaining was that SAG finally dropped its ironclad demand for a doubling of DVD payment, shifting reimbursement to other methods. Although a deal is still not certain, the good-faith move by SAG has opened a door of promise and hope that a deal may be cut by next Tuesday. The sister actors union, AFTRA, has agreed to delay the start of its own talks until after Tuesday. In case you haven't been reading up, the actors' contract expires on June 30, and Lost (like the vast majority of primetime shows) works under a SAG contract.

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Actor Strike Possible? May Update

As reported in our previous entry, the primetime TV contract talks between the producers (AMPTP) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is about to end tomorrow, after three workweeks of negotiations.

The prospects don't look good, according to industry press (see Variety). Yesterday, the AMPTP broke media neutrality with a public criticism of SAG, which apparently has not backed off of its hot-button demands, in particular for a doubling of DVD reimbursement as well as its demands for New Media which are significantly better than the terms recently negotiated by the writers (WGA) and directors (DGA). The producers have long said the actors should not expect a better deal than these other unions.

In all likelihood then, talks with SAG will end tomorrow and go on hiatus and the AMPTP begins talks with SAG's rival union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Actors (AFTRA). As a reminder, most primetime shows are under SAG contracts, including Lost. AFTRA only has 3 shows in primetime (they are powerful in daytime TV), but if they can ink a quick deal at less demanding terms, they may be able to get a larger foothold in SAG's traditional territory, and maybe even in upcoming digital new media projects.

Talks may with SAG might resume after AFTRA is finished with its negotiations, but it's already May and the contract expires in two months on June 30. There's plenty of time for more negotiations, and a strike is not for certain, but a quick resolution and ease of mind by tomorrow evening now seems very unlikely. Lost Season 5's timely resumption may hang in the balance. We'll check back tomorrow.

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Eyes wide shut: Is another strike possible?

Most fans are blithely ignoring the possibility that the prospects for a normal Season 5 may be in jeopardy. In anticipation of the April 24 resumption of the post-WGA-strike episodes of Lost Season 4 in one week, and the recent news that ABC Chief Stephen McPherson has green-lighted the Lost team's request for an additional hour for this installment, most fans are eagerly gearing up to consume more of Lost. Why the worry?

On June 30, the major producer's film-primetime contract with the two actors unions expires. If a new contract isn't signed by that date, the actors are free to strike, and unlike the writers, an actor strike would end production immediately. If a strike does happen this summer, it could potentially impact Lost Season 5, which otherwise would begin filming in the mid August...

In short, that's the scary part, that we might be in for a strike all over again. We don't know if a strike will really happen, but after what happened with the WGA, the fans should know that the long dance to the culmination of this contract has recently begun. Today will mark the third day of official negotiations between Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and producers.

What are the chances for a strike? Well first of all Lost is a SAG production, not AFTRA. The two actors unions were going to negotiate together for added leverage but have a history of bad blood and distrust, and just about 2 weeks ago, AFTRA surprised SAG with a sudden divorce. (link) And just over a week ago, Disney's Bob Iger and News Corp's Peter Chernin ended informal talks with SAG. (link) In case you hadn't paid attention during the last strike, these are the two individuals who single-handedly revived the hopelessly-stalled talks with the writers (WGA) immediately after the directors union (DGA) had inked a deal, and thereby started the chain of events that ultimately brought Lost back to you.

Yeah those guys. And they just essentially gave up on the actors. Thus only two days ago, formal negotiations began between the producers and SAG. (link). The good news is that thus far, both parties are avoiding the public mudslinging that made the writers' talks so spiteful and unproductive. In fact they've made joint announcements that are essentially a news blackout: "Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers held a full day of meetings today and exchanged proposals. We will meet again tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. We have no further comment at this time."(link) Press releases don't get drier than that!

The bad news is that SAG has been publicly unsatisfied with the terms of the recent DGA and WGA deals, a dissatisfaction that Iger and Chernin were apparently unable to budge. SAG head Alan Rosenberg said as much in a letter to his membership (link), although he has been meticulous in denying that he "wants" a strike. The clock is ticking because in two weeks, AFTRA begins its negotiations separately-- and since they are known (for various reasons we won't get into here) to accept more lenient terms than SAG, they may reach an agreement relatively soon after that date. If that happens and SAG doesn't have a contract and later goes on strike, AFTRA could move in on some SAG territory, especially on the digital frontier. That possibility might discourage SAG from striking. But just yesterday, AFTRA also shuffled its leadership in a new vote with five new "dissident" board members who want a more SAG-like stance, so that AFTRA may negotiate harder than previously guessed (link). In that case a return to joint bargaining with SAG and even a joint strike is not absolutely out of the question. The repercussions of the AFTRA board shuffle are not yet clear.

So all in all, nobody wants a strike. But SAG has long been made it clear that it considers the current contract renewal to be a watershed moment, that it wants a revolution in the new media side, and has hinted strongly that using the recent WGA and DGA deals as templates for their own deal may not be adequate. And if the producers don't cave, that means a strike, and a delay to Lost Season 5. Let's hope it doesn't play out that way.


UPDATE 1 (Thurs Apr 24): Negotiations have been extended a week until Fri May 2. (link)

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