SCREEN ACTORS GUILD NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVES TENTATIVE BASIC CABLE AND ANIMATION CONTRACTS

RECOMMENDS RATIFICATION OF BASIC CABLE LIVE ACTION DEAL
Los Angeles (December 4, 2010) – The National Board of Screen Actors Guild today overwhelmingly approved the tentative agreements reached November 10 with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for successor contracts to the Basic Cable Live Action, Basic Cable Animation and Television Animation contracts.
The Board voted to send the Basic Cable Live Action tentative agreement to the membership for ratification by mailed ballot with the Board’s positive recommendation.  Those ballots will be mailed to eligible SAG members in late January, with an expected return date in early February.  Tabulation will occur immediately upon the conclusion of balloting.
The Board ratified the smaller Basic Cable Animation and Television Animation contracts directly, effective upon the ratification of the Television and Motion Picture contracts.
The current contracts expire on June 30, 2011. Highlights of the tentative agreement include:
• The term of each agreement is three years, commencing July 1, 2011.
• Wage increases of 6% over the terms of the agreements, with 2% increases in each of the three years, effective July 1, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
• A 10% increase in the current rate of employer contributions would be paid to the Screen Actors Guild Pension & Health Plans bringing the total contribution rate to 16.5% effective July 1, 2011.
Additionally, the unions agreed to modifications to the travel provision that allow for business class (or first class when business class is unavailable) on all domestic flights of 1,000 miles or more and on all international flights, except for Vancouver and Toronto, Canada.  Coach class travel is permitted on flights of less than 1,000 miles between a U.S. city and Vancouver, Canada or Toronto, Canada and flights between Los Angeles and Vancouver, Canada. First class travel shall continue to be required if business class is not available and coach is not permissible.
Formal negotiations on these contracts began on Monday, November 8, at AMPTP headquarters in Sherman Oaks, CA.
In other business, the Board received an update from the Screen Actors Guild SAG-AFTRA Relations Task Force regarding recent activities of the Presidents’ Forum for One Union.