AFTRA Agrees to Joint Negotiations with SAG

LOS ANGELES: The national board of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) has approved plans to jointly negotiate its next prime-time TV contract alongside the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

The contracts that AFTRA and SAG currently have with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers—which were negotiated separately—expire in June 2011. Reports indicate that negotiations for the new deal are expected to begin in October, in an attempt to avert the problems of the last renewal, in which SAG members were working without a contract for almost a year.

AFTRA’s national president, Roberta Reardon, said: “I applaud the National Board for taking this important step forward today following our productive discussions with our counterparts at Screen Actors Guild earlier this week, specifically with respect to AFTRA’s heavy negotiating schedule for 2010. I look forward to continuing our work with SAG President Ken Howard and the leadership and members of our sister union as we move forward to bargain the strongest possible contracts for professional talent.”