So, one of the actors’ unions settled. This may be a “DGA moment” for SAG — i.e., just as the DGA settlement represented the endgame of the writer’s strike process — various public displays of rhetoric notwithstanding — this may an analogous turning point for SAG. And then, for the first time since last Halloween, the town can finally, actually get back to work.
What’s that you say? We’re in a recession/depression now? And no one can afford the gas to drive to sets located in Vasquez Rocks and other outlying locales!? Stay tuned!
Meanwhile, Bloomberg’s coverage of the settlement:
Actors Union, Hollywood Studios Reach Labor Accord (Update2)
By Sarah Rabil and Michael White
May 28 (Bloomberg) — Hollywood studios and one actors union reached a tentative labor agreement for prime-time television shows, making it less likely a strike will halt production for the second time in a year.
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the studios’ Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers agreed on a three-year contract that provides wage increases and payments for work used on the Internet, both sides said today in separate statements.
The accord, subject to approval by Aftra’s board and membership, comes on the same day that the larger Screen Actors Guild resumed negotiations with studios. Those talks broke down May 6 after three weeks of meetings failed to end differences over DVD and Internet pay rates.
“An Aftra agreement puts a lot of pressure on SAG and its leadership,” Steve Diamond, a professor of entertainment and labor law at Santa Clara University School of Law, in Santa Clara, California, said in an interview before the announcement. “They may have to back down from some of their demands.”
And there’s more at the link…
