Federal mediator to join union talks
By DAVE MCNARY
As expected, the congloms will return to the bargaining table with SAG with a federal mediator joining the stalled talks.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced Thursday afternoon that it had agreed to the request by the Screen Actors Guild that talks resume with the help of mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez.
SAG said in response, "We look forward to meeting with the federal mediator and the AMPTP committee as soon as possible."
No date's been announced yet for the new round of negotiations. The two sides - which have remained far apart in many areas, particularly new media -- last met on July 16.
The AMPTP left little doubt that it's not going to budge from its final offer, made June 30 as SAG's feature-primetime contract expired. The org, serves as the bargaining arm for the congloms, noted that it's reached deals with the WGA, DGA and AFTRA and added that SAG's insisted that it must receive sweeter terms.
"It will be very difficult to reach an agreement if SAG continues to insist unreasonably that it deserves a better deal than the ones achieved by the other entertainment Guilds during far better economic times," the AMPTP said.
The congloms have warned in recent months that they may reduce the value of the final offer due to the souring economy.
"The producers have demonstrated our willingness to bargain reasonably," it said. "So far this year, we have reached four major labor agreements, and each one of these agreements has required compromise after compromise on our part. We have also offered compromises to SAG already, in a package that includes more than $250 million in economic gains and groundbreaking new media rights."
SAG's top leaders haven't backed off their stance that the deal falls short, particularly in new media. But the national board held off last weekend on conducting a strike authorization vote in favor of seeking a mediator - possibly a reflection of the shift in control of the board following last month's election, which saw a more moderate faction emerge with a narrow majority.
SAG's national board decided last weekend that if the guild's negotiating committee determines that the new round of talks has failed, the negotiating committee would then have the power to ask SAG members for a strike authorization -- a process that would take 30-45 days and require more than 75% of members voting to approve for a strike to occur. The national board would have the final decision on a work stoppage.
In the meantime, studios and nets have continued to bet that SAG won't strike amid the economic downturn. Feature film production will see a major increase early next year as studios begin filling out their 2010 slates. (Daily Variety, Oct. 
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