SAG, AFTRA and the AMPTP The Latest Reality Series?

Let’s recap the SAG and AFTRA negotiations with AMPTP:

SAG and the AMPTP negotiated until May 6 when AFTRA refused to postpone their own negotiations so SAG could complete their contract talks. AFTRA began negotiations with the general perception that the work would be swift and that there would be a settlement between AFTRA and AMPTP, putting pressure on SAG to likewise settle.

Then a week or so ago, AFTRA in seeming solidarity with SAG, announced that they could not accept the AMPTP proposal with respect to clip usage on the internet. We were told that SAG had observers in the negotiations with AMPTP just as AFTRA had observers in the SAG negotiations.

Eventually SAG agreed to restart negotiations with AMPTP on Wednesday, May 28th. Cryptic announcements released by AFTRA over the past several days indicated that the AMPTP and AFTRA were indeed close to a deal.

Then as of about 5pm today we have this story from Daily Variety:

Even as insiders insisted that a deal was within reach, AFTRA and the majors continued to test the town’s patience by going down to the wire after three weeks of talks.

With rival thesp union SAG champing at the bit to resume its negotiations today, AFTRA had been widely expected to announce a tentative agreement Tuesday with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Televison Producers. Negotiators had worked for nine consecutive days, including well into evenings in recent sessions, to finalize details.

Instead, no deal had emerged as of late afternoon Tuesday amid a news blackout. It’s understood frustration has been mounting among the congloms due to massive amounts of time on a single issue — the companies’ proposal that actors agree to drop the consent requirement for online clips — along with momentum stalling on small details in recent sessions.

Uncertainty reigned Tuesday as to whether the AFTRA talks would be extended into today to wrap up the negotiations. It’s understood the congloms have made it clear they won’t give AFTRA another specific date for resuming talks, opting instead to spend the time negotiating with SAG since the guild controls all feature work and most TV work.

AFTRA’s case of cold feet may stem from its leaders being hesitant about making a deal prior to SAG’s. Such a pact will probably be heavily criticized by SAG — given that the relationship between the performers unions is already deeply troubled.

Conspiracy theorists who don’t trust AFTRA very much at all might think that AFTRA and AMPTP do in fact have a deal, including an agreement to keep it quiet until after SAG settles or asks members for a strike authorization.

This afternoon, SAG members received the following missive from President Alan Rosenberg which includes the assertion that SAG observers were not given the same access to AFTRA negotiations that AFTRA observers had been given to the SAG talks.:

May 27, 2008

Dear SAG Members,

Tomorrow we will resume TV/Theatrical contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). As you know, the AMPTP suspended our negotiations on May 6 to begin talks with AFTRA for its primetime Exhibit A contract.

Screen Actors Guild observers were present for only 6 of the 18 days that AFTRA has been meeting with the AMPTP. We were proud to invite AFTRA to attend every day of our bargaining sessions. In the event that our committee met in executive session with only senior staff present, or in sidebar with a handful of staff and members, we reported the discussions and results of the sessions and gave AFTRA every document. Unfortunately that level of transparency was not reciprocated. Observers were in fact told they could not attend 12 days of confidential sessions. As a result SAG has not had a representative there for the last week. We don’t have any details about the status of the talks except that AFTRA and the AMPTP are continuing to meet today, and we will resume our negotiations at 10 a.m. at the AMPTP tomorrow morning.

Your National Negotiating Committee remains committed to getting the best terms possible for actors. We have spent the entire 2 ½ weeks since talks were suspended reaching out to members around the country. We held Town Hall meetings in Los Angeles, New York and via videoconference in Chicago, Miami and San Francisco. We also visited numerous sets in Los Angeles and movie locations in New York. We met with high profile actors in groups and sought input from as many members as possible. We asked you to provide your thoughts via email, and thousands of you responded.

We are going back into these critical negotiations armed with your thoughts, observations, demands, and your blessings. Your leaders will do everything possible to get a fair contract. You and your families deserve nothing less.

The main outstanding issues remain the same as they were in early May:

Middle Class Actors: Actors and background actors are struggling to stay in the game. While management has said they have money to spend here, we want to make sure it’s spent in ways that make a real difference: increases in minimums, including major role, mileage, schedule and money breaks, and more coverage for background actors, for example.

Clips: We have said no to management’s demands of you to give up your right to consent to the use of clips containing your images.

DVD: We simply want the employers to pay your Pension & Health contributions on top of your residual, instead of taking it out of your share of DVD revenues. The entire eligible cast shares only 1% of that revenue. You shouldn’t have to pay your own P& H contributions out of that percentage.

Force Majeur: The SAG contract has longstanding provisions for down periods when a project goes out of production because of an Act of God or strike by another union. We have said no to management’s proposal to wipe away pending claims and to force you to negotiate these rights by yourself

New Media Jurisdiction: SAG wants to cover ALL new media projects, no matter how low the budget. We should not allow major studios and networks to produce non-union new media projects without SAG actors because they have low budgets.

I promise to keep you apprised of our progress over the coming days. Thank you for your support and please continue to provide input by emailing  Contract2008 at sag.org.

In unity,

Alan Rosenberg

Can anyone confirm whether or not this whole mess is being taped for a new reality series?