Local News in Brief : AFTRA Negotiations With Networks Fail

Negotiations between the television performers union and the three networks have failed to produce a new contract, and union leaders will consider a strike, a union spokeswoman said Tuesday in Los Angeles.

The board of directors of the 68,000-member American Federation of Television and Radio Artists will hold three regional meetings the third week of December to assess the status of the negotiations, AFTRA spokeswoman Pamm Fair said. “The directors have been empowered with the right to call a strike,” Fair said.

The AFTRA board meetings are scheduled for Dec. 12 in Los Angeles, Dec. 13 in Chicago and Dec. 14 in New York, she said. AFTRA last struck the networks in 1967.

The contract talks, which began Oct. 4, cover all network news, sports and entertainment programs, with the exception of prime-time shows, which are covered in a separate contract. The pact affects a variety of performers, including such luminaries as Johnny Carson, Dan Rather and Ted Koppel, and more than 3,000 other network employees.

Details of the talks have been kept secret. Key issues include working conditions, pay rates, pension benefits and job duties for news reporters.