Actors' guild proposes debate with sister union

By Leslie Simmons

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The presidential candidates aren't the only ones looking for a debate.

On Monday, Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg proposed that SAG and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), its smaller sister union, hold an official debate on the issues involving AFTRA's newly brokered prime-time/TV contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.

SAG and AFTRA have been locking horns over the latter's tentative agreement with the AMPTP, which was reached May 28.

Before negotiations with the studios, AFTRA suspended its joint bargaining agreement with SAG to negotiate its own prime-time/TV contract. Since then, it's been a war of words between the two performers' unions, which kicked up a notch after AFTRA brokered its deal with the AMPTP.

AFTRA's national board has voted to send the new contract to members for ratification and expects the results by July 7.

SAG and AFTRA share 44,000 members, and SAG has been urging those members to vote down the AFTRA contract. SAG's national executive committee voted 13 to 10 to launch a campaign -- which is estimated to cost $75,000-$150,000 -- against the AFTRA contract.

AFTRA in the meantime has started up its own campaign. On Monday, it sent members a detailed e-mail about their deal.

For example, SAG claims that AFTRA achieved no significant gains for middle-class actors. But AFTRA counters that it closed a deal that included a 10 percent increase in pay for all categories, a 13 percent increase in major role minimums and restored health and retirement coverage for warm-up performers that it says was lost when it synchronized its prime-time contract with SAG's TV agreement in 2005.

Rosenberg proposed the debate in a letter hand-delivered to AFTRA's Los Angeles office and addressed to the union's president, Roberta Reardon. He said the point of the debate would be to clear up conflicting information SAG and AFTRA members are receiving about the tentative agreement and its impact on SAG's current negotiations with the AMPTP.

"I am specifically requesting that we schedule a joint membership meeting over the next week for members in Los Angeles, at which we discuss and debate the facts," Rosenberg wrote. "I hope you agree that it would be productive for members to hear directly from both of their unions."

Rosenberg said the meeting would be a two-hour "full and frank discussion" of the agreement with members present.

Rosenberg suggested that a member of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor or the Department of Professional Employees serve as debate moderator.

AFTRA had not responded to the invitation late Monday.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter