As SHOOT went to press, the full negotiating teams for the actors’ unions and the advertising industry had entered their ninth consecutive day of talks in New York. Although both sides have honored a gag order imposed by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, word is that tangible progress has been made and that a settlement could very well be in the offing. (See shootonline.com for updates and full details on the final outcome of the talks.)
However, negotiations were still at a delicate stage at press time, with several hurdles needing to be cleared before the strike by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) is history. Unfortunately, the strike has already reached historic proportions, becoming the longest ever in the entertainment industry, surpassing the 1988 writers’ strike, which lasted in excess of 150 days.
Informed sources claim that the Joint Policy Committee (JPC) will relinquish its demand to eliminate residuals for network TV ads in order to reach a settlement. The JPC represents the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) in contract talks.
Meanwhile, prevalent conjecture is that the actors’ unions would similarly back off their goal of extending the residuals system to cable. Other key issues continue to be payments for ads on the Internet, and the unions’ push for a monitoring system to better track spot airings and residual payments.
If talks unravel, the strike against the ad industry could last several more months, with picketing and other union actions escalating. For example, in the event that negotiations fall through, SAG and AFTRA announced plans to begin a boycott of Procter & Gamble (P&G). According to the unions, the AFL-CIO would also support the boycott. SAG and AFTRA targeted P&G because the company has continued to produce a healthy slate of commercials during the strike, using non-union performers.
An industry source familiar with the talks said they have reached "a make-or-break point, with a window of a few more days to finalize a settlement. If the negotiations stall and are broken off, you’re looking at a strike that could last indefinitely."
However, if a settlement is reached, subject to ratification by the unions, several processes could get underway. Rather than wait for ratification, a number of agencies and advertisers might opt to enter into interim contracts under terms of the new agreed-upon settlement in order to be able to immediately access union actors for commercials. More importantly, a healing and recovery process could finally begin for U.S. crew members as well for as industry support services and supplier companies, who have been adversely impacted by strike-fueled runaway production.
Then there’s the long-term process of keeping production in the U.S. A number of advertisers have had favorable experiences-both creatively and in terms of cost savings-shooting in foreign countries during the strike. While many of those advertisers will come back to the U.S. once the strike is settled, others have come to realize that they have a viable, attractive option in such countries as Canada, Australia, South Africa and the Czech Republic.
As earlier reported (SHOOT, 9/8/00), spot location shooting in Greater Los Angeles has plummeted some 50 percent since the strike began on May 1, with much of that work being diverted to other U.S. cities, and often to foreign countries. This has hurt the local Los Angeles economy to the tune of anywhere from $1 million to $2.5 million daily, according to county and city government estimates.
