Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Health and Retirement are the Hangup in AFTRA Netcode Negotiations (Exclusive)

AFTRA’s negotiations with the networks and television producers resume this week and the big issue, according to a source close to the process, is the same one that’s bedeviled Hollywood labor for the past several years: health and retirement.

Negotiations began November 7 under a press blackout, but haven’t produced a deal yet. The contract under negotiation – AFTRA’s Network Code, colloquially referred to as the “front of book” – is the union’s largest, and generates more than $250 million a year in member earnings. It covers programs in all television day parts, except scripted network primetime and scripted basic cable.

The emphasis on health and retirement is probably heightened by the dynamic of SAG-AFTRA merger.

Details: The Hollywood Reporter.

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