Strike Threat Announced by Ad Actors

The prospect of a second broadcast industry walkout loomed Thursday as two major performers’ unions warned that they will strike radio and TV commercial makers March 21 unless there is progress on negotiations for a new contract.

Separately, noegotiatiors for the Writers Guild of American the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke off talks with a federal mediator without bargaining progress and without any plan to resume, according to a producers’ spokesman.

“We’re not even in the same neighborhood,” the spokesman said.

Guild representatives could not be reached.

The warning from the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists came as a strike by TV and movie writers against producers, major studios and the CBS, NBC and ABC television networks entered its fourth day.

Earlier the Writers Guild said it plans to picket CBS Inc.’s Television City complex this morning. The 9,000-member guild has been on strike since Monday.

The Writers Guild last struck the alliance for two weeks in 1985. Only movies and TV entertainment shows are affected by the current walkout.

In the commercials contract dispute, members of SAG and AFTRA voted overwhelmingly last week to authorize a walkout. The Screen Actors Guild has jurisdiction over filmed commercials, while AFTRA has it over live and taped productions.

The union officers began talks Jan. 11 with the American Assn. of Advertising Agencies and the Assn. for National Advertisers. The unions’ old contract expired Feb. 6 but has been extended during negotiations.

There have been no meetings since Monday, and no new sessions currently are scheduled, a spokeswoman for the unions said.

Major issues in the dispute include payments for commercials in the fast-growing cable TV market, cost-of-living increases and union proposals to raise fees for 10- and 15-second television commercials.

The two unions say they have a combined membership of 100,000. Their last strike against commercial producers occurred in 1978 and lasted seven weeks.