Talent Union Contract Negotiations Update: Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter said on June 1 that commerical unions- Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) were considering an extension of the Commercials Contract, due to expire on October 29, 2006, in order to jointly explore with the Joint Policy Committee (JPC) other options for this very complex agreement. Details have NOT been worked out as of yet, so the extension is not a done deal; but it's an encouraging development

No formal discussions have yet been held between the unions and the JPC but there seems to be a willingness by all parties to study the agreement and its payment concepts. To this end Requests for Proposals have been issued to nine different consulting groups and universities to undertake a study of the contract and propose alternatives to the present system first agreed to over 50 years ago.

How much time will be required for the study will nto be known until the requests have been returned sometime later this month. For further background, Click here to read Ted Bird's recent update on the contract negotiations.