American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists

Hollywood's unfolding labor drama was on the verge of ending late Saturday as studios and actors closed in on a new three-year deal that would quash strike threats that have consumed the industry for a year. Weary negotiators recessed for the night about 9 p.m., letting their current contract expire at midnight. They will reconvene at 10 a.m. today. Both sides said the adjournment wasn't a sign of impasse and that they were committed to reaching an agreement. "We want to achieve a contract.

Contract negotiations between two actors unions and movie and television studios continued and might run through the weekend as both sides try to come to terms before the agreement expires July 1. The negotiating committees will continue talks "with no breaks in negotiations scheduled at this time, in an effort to meet the June 30 deadline," the unions and studios said in a prepared statement.

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.

Members of the two major actors unions have overwhelmingly approved a new, three-year contract with the advertising industry that substantially increases pay for actors who appear in commercials, the unions have announced. The vote by members of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists brings a formal conclusion to a contract dispute that led to a six-month strike, which ended in October.

As the commercial actors strike draws to a close, thousands of actors are preparing not to go back to work, as most workers would after a strike, but to go back to seeking work: auditioning, scanning ads, waiting by the phone.

Robert Amico has seldom used his acting talents better than when he starred as "The Mole" during the Screen Actors Guild strike against the advertising industry. The actor and novice strike captain earned his nickname with performances that included impersonating a Texaco official on the set of a nonunion commercial for the oil company. His most convincing prop: his gasoline credit card stuffed into a plastic name tag holder. "I was James Bond," he said.

A work order authorizing striking actors to go back to work on commercials, starting Monday, was issued late Saturday after their union leaders voted to approve a new contract with the advertising industry. Directors of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists voted as expected during a meeting in Los Angeles to approve the deal negotiated last week, ending the bitter six-month strike.