SAG, AFTRA Reach Tentative Contract on Commercials

by James Parks, Apr 2, 2009

Just hours after the old contract expired, the Screen Actors (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) reached a tentative three-year commercials contract.

The tentative deal with the Joint Policy Committee of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers must be approved by the SAG/AFTRA Joint National Board and the membership of both unions. The contract expired at midnight Tuesday.

The agreement provides for a $36 million increase in wage rates and other payments for all categories of performers in the first year. It also includes some $21 million in increased contributions to the SAG Pension and Health Plan and the AFTRA Health and Retirement Fund and calls for the establishment of a payment structure for work made for the Internet and other new-media platforms.

The agreement also covers new monitoring provisions and improvements for choreographers, extras and Spanish-language performers, they said.

Calling the tentative contract ”a major victory for our unions—and a victory for organized labor as a whole,” AFTRA President Roberta Reardon said:

In this round of negotiations, during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we successfully improved wages and expanded benefits to keep our members working now and in the future.

Importantly, the new contract calls for a two-year pilot study, set to start April 15, to test a model for restructuring compensation to performers. The study’s findings will be subject to negotiations.

Sue-Anne Morrow, SAG chair of the joint negotiating committee, said:

By securing a joint study to research and develop a workable compensation model, our negotiating committee protected every member who works under these contracts across the country.

Other highlights of the new agreement include:

• A 5.1 percent overall increase in wages and other compensation over the life of the contracts.
• For new media products, like the Internet, artists will receive 1.3 times the minimum session fee for use over eight weeks and 3.5 times the minimum session fee for one year’s use.

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