Actors' Unions Reach Deal With Producers

After six weeks of bargaining, ending in a marathon session that extended into the night, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) reached a new three-year deal today with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

As expected, it's all about bread and butter, and little else. The unions received modest 2% annual wage increases. That means the studios have successfully held the line at the level established in negotiations earlier this year with Teamsters Local 399, representing Hollywood truck drivers and others. Bumps as high as 3.5% were the norm just two or three years ago. Of course, in today's economy, any wage increase is a plus. The big win for the unions came in pension and health. There, the employers agreed to boost their contributions by 1.5%, a ten percent increase over the existing 15% contribution level. Boosts of 0.5% are more common, so this is a solid gain, particularly in light of the fiscal pressures on both pension plans and health plans - declining asset values, increased health care costs, and others.