As they promised, the new moderate, rancor-free leadership of the Screen Actors Guild has worked peacefully with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to jointly negotiate a new major-contract deal with the producers.
No strike. No nasty rhetoric ... but the labor organizations were only able to secure 2 percent minimum wage increases on a new three year prime-time broadcast TV/theatrical deal.
The labor orgs did, however, receive 10 percent funding increases to their pension and health funds. According to a SAG statement, the increase represents the largest-ever dollar-value bump to these funds.
The new agreement increases the total "P&H" contribution from 15 percent to 16.5 percent.
The deal -- which covers motion pictures and broadcast and pay-cable prime-time TV for SAG, and prime-time TV for AFTRA -- replaces one that expires June 30, 2011.
The agreement is tentative, pending membership approval by both talent orgs.
SAG and AFTRA made the deal with the AMPTP on the tail end of a six-week negotiating period that started on Sept. 27, with the groups working until the wee hours of Sunday morning to finally come to terms.
The agreement was in line with recent deals carved out by the Alliance of Motion Picture Television Producers.
In July, for example, the Teamsters Local 399, which represents Hollywood transportation workers, was only able to carve out 2 percent wage increases (the union wanted 3 percent) but got concessions on pension-and-health funding.
So is it a good deal? As always, that depends on who you ask.
SAG's moderate-minded majority, which is focused on re-approaching the decades-old merger proposition with AFTRA, will cast the deal as the best possible outcome, given the sour economy.
Their dissonant critics in the fast-disappearing Membership First coalition believe SAG's leadership -- spearheaded by national president Ken Howard and chief negotiator David White -- rushed into a bad deal with the AMPTP in order to prove they could negotiate cooly and calmly alongside AFTRA.
"All they care about is merging with AFTRA," one Membership First denizen recently told TheWrap.
The new deal, SAG dissonants say, notably lacks improvements on new-media compensation.
"We screwed the WGA," added the Membership First member, noting that dynamics of pattern bargaining will make it difficult for the Writers Guild of America to achieve one of its primary stated goals, that is improving compensation on new media.
In the end, with Howard's Unite for Strength coalition commanding 75 percent of the voting power on the board of SAG's Hollywood Division, and Membership First clinging to only a handful of remaining national board seats, might will make right.
Before re-convening on Monday at AMPTP headquarters to discuss a new basic-cable agreement -- a boiler-plate process, since the just-agreed-upon major TV/film contract will set most of the terms -- Howard is set to lead small morning gathering on Sunday called the "Presidents for One Union Meeting," alongside his AFTRA counterpart, Roberta Reardon.
