Thursday 12 June 2008

Strike Negotiations Marred By Union In-fighting


An actors strike this summer (08) is looking more likely than ever after bosses of the two main unions turned on one another.

Actors are threatening walkouts at the end of June (08) if talks between the unions and major film studios fail to resolve a dispute over pay and conditions.

But now a bitter feud has broken out between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), whose members appear in night time TV and film, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), with members including daytime TV stars and radio personalities.

The two unions' executives severed ties back in March (08), with each organisation attempting to negotiate their own deal with film and TV studio chiefs.

And now SAG bosses have infuriated their counterparts at AFTRA by asking them to hold back on negotiations until they have fixed their deal - with AFTRA threatening legal action if the other union tries to "undermine or interfere with our ratification process".

AFTRA members are set to vote on a new deal later this month (Jun08).





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