American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists

The war between the advertising industry and striking actors escalated Tuesday, with ad agencies filing federal unfair labor practice complaints against the actors' union for allegedly threatening to permanently ban from the union any actors who appear in commercials during the strike. The Screen Actors Guild immediately fired back, with its chief negotiator John McGuire calling the allegations "groundless and without merit."

Representatives of the two Hollywood actors unions met Monday with top studio executives to discuss upcoming labor talks, but set no timetable to start formal negotiations, representatives from both sides said. Officials from the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists used the Encino meeting to outline their major issues.

An open letter signed by more than 100 comedians, including Jay Leno and Tim Allen, appeared in Hollywood trade newspapers and publications in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., on Thursday, protesting Black Entertainment Television's stand-up comedy show "Comic View." The action, sponsored by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, is the latest move in an ongoing effort to pressure BET into better compensating comedians who appear on "Comic View."

Several hundred actors rallied outside the headquarters of the Screen Actors Guild on Monday to support their leaders and blast a contract with the Hollywood studios recently negotiated by the smaller actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Representatives of actors and advertisers confirmed Monday that they will meet again next week in New York to try to jump-start contract negotiations that broke down late last month. Meetings are set to start Oct. 19, with both sides promising that they will remain at the bargaining table if progress is made.

While acknowledging that "people of color" remain severely underrepresented in television roles, representatives from the three networks predict a brighter future for minority actors, possibly because of NBC's newest daytime drama, "Generations." "Because of ("Generations," which includes a core black family) you're going to see blacks in dramatic roles. . . . The network is brave enough now," said Judi Ann Mason, an associate head writer for the soap, during a Thursday session of the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Ethnic Employment Opportunities Committee Conference in Universal City.

Actors and studios are considering extending their labor agreement for one year to avoid a potential work slowdown, the two sides said Sunday. Discussions between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and Hollywood's two actor unions, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, started Tuesday and recessed Friday. They are expected to resume in the next few days.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has made good on its threat to break ranks with its more powerful sister union, the Screen Actors Guild. AFTRA's board of directors voted Saturday to separately negotiate its upcoming prime-time television contract with the major studios -- without SAG at the bargaining table. The decision effectively ends a 27-year partnership between the two unions under which they had jointly negotiated film and prime-time TV contracts.

"Judging Amy" star Amy Brenneman was there with an arm around co-star Tyne Daly. A bearded Noah Wyle of "E.R." sat with actor Richard Dreyfuss. Actor William Baldwin recited the line he uttered once in a New York lottery ad. Comedian Buddy Hackett said that in his hometown of Las Vegas, "We only fold in poker."

KVEA-TV Channel 52 has recognized the union voted in by its production and newsroom employees, effectively avoiding a threatened boycott during November sweeps and ending an 18-month labor dispute. The local flagship of Telemundo, the nation's second-largest Spanish-language broadcast network, agreed to meet with representatives of the National Assn. of Broadcast Employees (NABET) on Nov. 20.