As if it wan't enough that the Democrats are loosing valuable resources and energy as they infight over Barack and Hillary. Confusion and frustration has now hit the two major acting unions on the dawn of their negotiations with producers for a new actors contract. And yes there could be another striike. This weekend a blow-up occurred after leaders of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), which represents about 70,000 actors and others, learned that Screen Actors Guild leaders, who represent about 120,000 actors, had met with cast members of the CBS soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
Earlier in the day, The Los Angeles Times reported that the federation officials had accused the guild of encouraging actors who were trying to end the federation’s representation of the show’s cast. Guild leaders disputed the claim. On Saturday evening, however, federation leaders scrapped the planned talks, which have been conducted jointly for nearly 30 years, citing the soap opera incident as the latest in a series of attempts by the guild to undercut them.
“This was simply the culmination of what really has been a year-long campaign by SAG to discredit Aftra,” Ms. Reardon said on Sunday.
Mr. Rosenberg — who called the soap opera issue a “sham” designed to let the federation exit joint talks. — said his guild had pledged not to take up representation of the “Bold and the Beautiful” actors, even if the federation were decertified. Relations between the unions, often rocky, had become especially difficult after the actors guild earlier floated a plan to tilt its customary 50-50 position on a joint bargaining committee in its own favor, because the guild is larger and its members have more earnings. Read more By MICHAEL CIEPLY at THE NEW YORK TIMES
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