Craft Unions, Film Producers Reach New Pact : Labor: A strike ballot had been mailed to members. Tentative agreement came after a break in the talks.

Negotiators for Hollywood’s craft unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers reached a tentative agreement Wednesday for a new, three-year contract. Terms were not disclosed.

Settlement was achieved after the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees earlier this month mailed strike-authorization ballots to members of the 23 craft unions it represented at the bargaining table. IATSE negotiators will now recommended approval of the package to the 24,000 union members, sources said.

The tentative pact comes at a time of union demands for higher wages and better financing of its medical coverage and other benefits.

At the high point of the talks, more than 3,000 union members attended a solidarity rally in Burbank that was addressed by actress Whoopi Goldberg. IATSE, once among Hollywood’s most powerful unions, has seen its clout eroded in recent years as more and more films have been shot outside California using non-union personnel.

The old contract was to expire July 31 but was extended to Dec. 3 by mutual agreement. The talks continued until Dec. 18, when they broke off. But sources said both sides had agreed to come back Wednesday, and on that day agreement was reached.

The contract would cover workers such as camera operators, editors, wardrobe artists, art directors and construction tradesmen.