Local News in Brief : No Progress in Latest Talks With Drivers

Negotiations between striking Hollywood Teamsters and producers resumed briefly with high hopes only to fall apart four hours later, and producers said Wednesday that no more talks are in sight.

“We came back together hoping something would happen, but nothing happened,” said Herb Steinberg, a spokesman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

A federal mediator brought the two sides to the bargaining table at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, but by 10:30 p.m. negotiations ended with no new talks scheduled. The strike by 2,200 drivers and more than 500 electricians and laborers is in its third week.

Steinberg on Wednesday blamed the collapse on a failure to compromise over revisions in work schedules. Negotiators for striking drivers appeared ready to accept a compromise on the issue, he said, but were overruled by their counterparts representing studio electricians.

Russell Bartley, chief negotiator for the striking electricians, said he refused to accept the compromise because producers were attempting to force overtime rules on his membership so they could argue for similar concessions from other craftsmen unions in the future.