American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists

An ugly feud between two actors unions burst into the open Monday, with the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists accusing its sister union of breaching a 26-year-old bargaining agreement. AFTRA and the larger Screen Actors Guild have been jointly negotiating contracts under a so-called Phase 1 Agreement adopted in 1981.

John P. Connolly, national president of the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, will become executive director of Actors' Equity Assn., the two unions announced. The 56-year-old Connolly begins his new position with Equity, which represents more than 45,000 stage actors and stage managers, March 19. He was elected president of AFTRA in 2001. The union has more than 70,000 members. At Equity, Connolly replaces Patrick Quinn, who died in September.

Actors and advertisers agreed Friday to discuss radical changes to the system of paying people who appear in commercials as part of a two-year extension of their current contract. The two unions representing actors agreed to the extension while both sides hire a consultant to recommend alternative compensation methods for ads that appear on television, radio, the Internet and other new media platforms.

About 60 national correspondents with NBC News are voting on whether to decertify the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists as their union, AFTRA President John Connolly said. Ballots were mailed out Tuesday, and are due back in early January. Issues include the amount of dues that members pay, as well as the strength of AFTRA's pension and health plan.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists will move its national headquarters from New York to Los Angeles in 2006, the union announced Sunday. The union's national board made the decision during a two-day videoconference in Los Angeles and New York over the weekend. "We are a union of performers who perform in the media industry, and Los Angeles is increasingly the capital of the media industry," said AFTRA spokesman Christopher de Haan.

Actors whose voices, likenesses or performances are used in video games will decide in the next two weeks whether to strike. The two main actors' unions are seeking a bigger cut of the burgeoning industry's profit. On Tuesday, the unions mailed ballots to more than 2,000 members to decide whether to authorize a strike against Electronic Arts Inc., Activision Inc. and several other game publishers.

Members of Hollywood's two major acting unions solidly ratified a new three-year contract providing for a 9% raise over three years but no increase in the share of DVD revenues. The vote by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists totaled 76.5% for the contract, with 23.5% against. Critics of the deal have argued that actors should have pushed harder for more DVD revenue.

Directors of Hollywood's two actors unions recommended to their members Saturday a new labor agreement, with studios providing a 9% pay increase over three years but no boost in the share of DVD revenues actors receive. Members of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists must vote by mail next month to ratify or reject the deal. On Saturday, 71.4% of the unions' board members voted to recommend, with 28.6% against.

Negotiators for actors and major entertainment companies will resume bargaining on a new contract Wednesday. Although the current pact won't expire until June 30, producers could slow shooting if the two sides remain at odds much longer because of the long lead time required to launch feature films.