The Association of National Advertisers (ANA)/American Association of Advertising Agencies’ (AAAA) Joint Policy Committee on Broadcast Talent Union Relations (JPC) has reached a tentative agreement with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) on a two-year extension to the Commercials Contract that covers ads appearing on TV, radio, the Internet and new media. The current pact expires on Oct. 29, 2006–the extension would run through Oct. 29, ’08.
The extension agreement still needs to be ratified by the unions’ joint national board and approved by both union memberships through a joint referendum, as well as pass muster with the ANA and AAAA boards. If the extension clears these hurdles, a key provision calls for the hiring of a yet-to-be determined consultant to conduct a joint union/industry study that will examine alternative methods to compensate performers for their participation in commercials appearing on TV and radio, and particularly in new media content. The rationale is that the two years will provide ample time to develop and sift through prospective compensation models, hopefully arriving at an equitable means on which to base payment to actors for their performances in traditional and nontraditional forms of advertising.
Besides the study–which is necessitated in large part by the advent of new outlets such as mobile phones, PDA, the Internet, VOD and gaming–key terms of the tentative JPC-SAG/AFTRA agreement include:
- Actors will receive a six percent increase in basic compensation, and the contribution to both unions’ pension and health plans will increase from 14.3 to 14.8 percent.
- The agreement for a limited time provides advertisers with more flexibility to edit spots for the Internet and new media without paying extra fees to actors.
- Advertisers will receive a one-year waiver, which will allow them to experiment with a shorter cycle of use in the new media and Internet areas.
- Advertisers recognize the unions’ jurisdiction over acting talent on all advertising that appears on the Internet, cellphones or other new platforms that might evolve.
- And a New Media Committee, consisting of representatives from both the unions and the ad industry, will be formed. This committee will be empowered to make adjustments to the agreement to accommodate changing technologies and shifting paradigms within the commercials industry.
John McGuire and Mathis L. Dunn Jr., chief negotiators for SAG and AFTRA, respectively, issued a joint statement which read, “Because of the tremendous growth of the Internet and digital technology, the unions have agreed to a two-year extension to conduct a comprehensive joint study that will allow us to determine whether existing pay structures should remain the same or be modified. This agreement also means that actors will have achieved increased opportunities for work and better wages and benefits. In a rapidly evolving media environment, our agreement demonstrates that performers and advertisers can work together to deal with change and build a stronger partnership that benefits us all.”
JPC chief negotiator Doug Wood released the following statement: “This early collaborative effort between the unions and the industry is a balanced compromise, and provide the time needed to develop a comprehensive model that fairly compensates performers and ensures that advertisers receive a fair return on their investment. Today’s call for accountability at all levels of business requires nothing less. I echo the comments of both John and Mathis that this breakthrough agreement was made possible by both sides working together and recognizing one another’s critical needs going forward.”
The results of the joint study will be considered in the next negotiations for the advertising industry’s collective bargaining agreement with SAG and AFTRA. Nine consultants from the industry and academia were invited on May 17 to respond to a request for proposal to conduct the joint study.
