In national voting completed Friday, the two leading acting unions — the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild — voted to approve a new, three-year contract covering theatrical and television production with Hollywood producers, both guilds announced.
The agreement — which calls for 2 percent annual wage increases — had been struck in November, and was overwhelmingly approved by the guilds.
The contract included concessions to the producers alliance, such as rollbacks on subsidized travel.
However, with a dwindling number of national board seats, SAG's more activist "Membership First" coalition was unable to muster opposition within the rank and file to oppose the contract, which was negotiated by the guild's more moderate "Unite For Strength" leadership
The Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers released a statement that said: “The ratification of the new contracts by SAG and AFTRA members is a vote of confidence in the agreements and in our mutual commitment to industry stability. The new agreements reflect the benefits of early negotiations and a willingness on both sides to work through the difficult issues in a constructive manner.”
Screen Actors Guild President Ken Howard said, "The success of the referendum is a huge boon for members in terms of pension and healthcare contributions. We have the input of our members and the dedication of our SAG negotiating team to thank for the outcome.”
The guilds released the following statement:
SAG and AFTRA Members Ratify New TV and Film Agreements
Los Angeles (January 14, 2011) – In national voting completed today, members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild voted overwhelmingly to approve a new, three-year contract covering theatrical and television production under the Producer-Screen Actors Guild Basic Agreement and Television Agreement, Exhibit A to the AFTRA Network Television Code and the CW Supplement, which applies to both unions.
AFTRA, SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached a tentative agreement in November on the deal that provides increases in base rates, contributions to the unions’ benefits plans, expanded employment opportunities and other improvements for working performers.
Overall, the memberships of SAG and AFTRA voted 93.52 percent to 6.48 percent in favor of the new agreement. Ballots were mailed to 137,437 members of AFTRA and SAG, of which 25.09 percent returned them. The final vote was certified by Integrity Voting Systems, an impartial election service based in Everett, Washington.
Screen Actors Guild President Ken Howard said, "The success of the referendum is a huge boon for members in terms of pension and healthcare contributions. We have the input of our members and the dedication of our SAG negotiating team to thank for the outcome.”
AFTRA President Roberta Reardon said, “This ratification is a win for union members and it is a critical victory for our health and retirement plans. I thank the working AFTRA and SAG members who served on the negotiating committee for leading us through to a strong agreement that the memberships of both unions have endorsed and approved.”
The new pact goes into effect on July 1, 2011 and will remain in force until June 30, 2014.
The unions began talks with the AMPTP on September 27. A joint AFTRA-SAG negotiating committee of 26 individuals – all of whom are members of both unions – participated daily in the talks. Leading the negotiations for the unions were Presidents Reardon and Howard, along with chief negotiators David White, the national executive director of SAG, and Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, the national executive director of AFTRA.
Members voted on the tentative agreement that had been reached with the AMPTP industry on Nov. 7 and overwhelmingly recommended by the SAG-AFTRA Joint National Board in a meeting on Dec. 4. Ballots were mailed on Dec. 10 to all eligible members in good standing of both unions. Due to the holidays, the customary voting period was extended from three to five weeks.
For further information on the new contract, including a summary of the agreement and the entire presentation viewed by the joint national board, go to SAG.org and www.aftra.com.
