Hollywood producers give new offer to actors guild

[February 20, 2009]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hollywood producers gave the Screen Actors Guild another contract offer in hopes of ending a labor dispute that has lasted for months.

The proposal, which producers called their "last, best and final offer," came as the two sides ended three days of negotiations Thursday.

SAG, the last holdout among several unions that have agreed to long-term contracts, has opposed the producers' previous offer, saying it failed to guarantee guild coverage in productions made for the Internet and failed to make residual payments on made-for-Internet content that is rerun online, among other issues.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said the offer provides residuals for several kinds of Internet programming, though it was unclear whether it specifically addressed the guild's demands. It also said the offer represents a $250 million increase over the contract that expired on June 30.

A message left with SAG spokeswoman Pamela Greenwalt were not immediately returned Thursday night.

"The terms in the offer are the best we can or will offer in light of the five other major industry labor deals negotiated over the past year and the extraordinary economic crisis gripping the world economy," AMPTP said in a statement.

Producers said SAG has 60 days to accept the proposed three-year contract. Afterward they reserve the right to modify or withdraw the offer.

Producers insist the three-year contract would start when it is ratified, instead of when the last one expired, which would mean SAG would not be able to join with the writers' and directors' guilds to increase their bargaining power when their contracts expire in 2011.

The negotiations this week followed months of internal strife at the guild, which fired its national executive director, Doug Allen, earlier this month. Allen had supported holding a strike vote but the leadership change makes such a vote highly unlikely.

The talks marked the first time the two sides met since November.

[Associated Press; By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON]

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