SAG will start its contract talks April 15, while AFTRA will wait until April 28, the two unions announced. For decades the labor organizations had conducted joint negotiations, but AFTRA announced last weekend that it was ending that practice.
"AFTRA is committed above all to improving and protecting the working lives of AFTRA performers, and in this spirit we have been focused on moving forward to negotiate the best possible contract for our members as soon as possible," AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon said Wednesday in a statement posted on the union\'s website, www.aftra.org.
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO, is a national labor union of over 70,000 actors, singers and recording artists, dancers, announcers and other broadcast talent performers, journalists, and other artists working in the entertainment and news media. With more than 30 local chapters across the country, including the Twin Cities, AFTRA promotes the success and welfare of members in a variety of ways, including contract negotiation and enforcement, advocating on legislative and public policy issues, supporting equal employment opportunities, and sponsoring or supporting health and retirement benefits and programs.
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SAG will start its contract talks April 15, while AFTRA will wait until April 28, the two unions announced. For decades the labor organizations had conducted joint negotiations, but AFTRA announced last weekend that it was ending that practice.
"AFTRA is committed above all to improving and protecting the working lives of AFTRA performers, and in this spirit we have been focused on moving forward to negotiate the best possible contract for our members as soon as possible," AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon said Wednesday in a statement posted on the union\’s website, www.aftra.org.
"Our issues with the leadership of the Screen Actors Guild are a matter of record, as is our decision to negotiate a primetime television agreement on our own this year. Nonetheless we are also concerned about the wellbeing of SAG members—some 44,000 of whom also belong to AFTRA.
"The SAG leadership has now reversed its previous approach of postponing contract talks until the last minute—and last night publicly announced that they intend to start talks with the AMPTP on April 15. AFTRA has decided to let SAG go first because we feel it is in all of our interests for SAG to maintain its momentum and because we want to give the guild a reasonable opportunity to meet with the AMPTP. In our view, our proposed schedule should allow SAG sufficient time to work out a good deal with the studios. At the same time, we cannot abdicate our responsibility to our own members to engage with the employers in a strong, deliberate, and timely manner so we can negotiate the best possible agreement for primetime performers."
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO, is a national labor union of over 70,000 actors, singers and recording artists, dancers, announcers and other broadcast talent performers, journalists, and other artists working in the entertainment and news media. With more than 30 local chapters across the country, including the Twin Cities, AFTRA promotes the success and welfare of members in a variety of ways, including contract negotiation and enforcement, advocating on legislative and public policy issues, supporting equal employment opportunities, and sponsoring or supporting health and retirement benefits and programs.