Commercial Performers OK Strike

Members of two major performers unions have overwhelmingly authorized a strike against producers of radio and television commercials, the two unions said Thursday. However, no walkout has yet been called.

The unions are the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, who on Jan. 11 began contract talks in New York with the American Assn. of Advertising Agencies and the Assn. of National Advertisers.

A tally of 29,850 ballots showed that 27,692 union members voted to authorize a strike, while only 2,158 voted against it. Their previous contract expired Feb. 6, but members have continued working during negotiations.

Those talks are continuing in New York, a union spokeswoman said. The strike authorization empowers union officials to call a walkout.

It was the second such action in two days in the entertainment industry. On Wednesday, members of the Writers Guild of America authorized a strike against TV and motion picture producers and the three major TV networks if talks, set to resume Saturday, fail to produce a new contract.

The guild has not set a strike date, even though its contract expired this past Monday. But a union spokesman said informational picketing would begin at 20th Century Fox studios this coming Monday morning if a new agreement is not reached.