After an invitation from SAG to join in negotiations with studio execs, AFTRA is choosing not to actively participate in the talks. Yahoo.com gives us more on the story:
Two staff members from the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists will only be observers as the Screen Actors Guild begins negotiating a new contract.
In a letter Monday to SAG, AFTRA said it would not revisit its decision to sever the guilds’ longtime unified negotiations.
The SAG’s board decided on Sunday to let AFTRA participate in talks with producers on new contracts for prime-time and feature films. AFTRA was given until Wednesday to respond. AFTRA will be negotiating with producers on April 28. Here’s more on what was in the letter:
AFTRA said it didn’t appear there has been resolution of the “underlying problems” that prompted its national board to suspend the 27-year-old agreement under which the unions have bargained in tandem.The AFTRA letter also called the 72-hour deadline set by SAG for a response a “pragmatically impossible timeline.”
However, two AFTRA staffers will act as observers at the SAG talks, the letter said, in keeping with the guilds’ mutual invitations.
“We extend our best wishes to the members of the Screen Actors Guild negotiating committee in their efforts to negotiate an excellent contract for performers,” the letter concluded.
So basically what was said was “screw you jerk face! But no, really..I want to know how it’s going, OK?” Honestly this doesn’t seem to be a bad solution to an awkward invitation. AFTRA will sit in, get information for their own negotiation and SAG will probably see this as a step towards reuniting the two estranged unions.
I’m wondering if an invitation will be sent out to SAG to sit in on the AFTRA negotiations, it would make sense that this might be the hope of SAG. However since AFTRA was the one wanting to split I don’t see that happening.
At the end of the day though I’m sure union members from both parties will be happy with whatever happens as long as the word “strike” isn’t uttered by either leader.
