Performers’ union negotiates new TV contract

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Actors and other performers who appear on such shows as ‘Saturday Night Live,’ ‘Days of Our Lives’ and ‘Dancing with the Stars’ would get modest pay raises under a new contract secured by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

AFTRA said Friday night it had negotiated a television contract that provides a 6% increase in wages over three years and a 1% increase in employer contributions to the union’s health and retirement funds. The contract covers actors, talk show hosts, singers, dancers and others who work on soap operas, sports programs, talk shows, non prime-time dramas and variety shows.

The agreement with the major broadcast networks and producers replaces a contract that expired last month and had been extended for one year. If ratified by AFTRA members, the new contract would run through Nov. 15, 2014.

The so-called network code is the union’s largest national collective bargaining agreement and accounts for more than $250 million a year in member earnings. AFTRA represents more than 70,000 performers, recording artists and broadcast journalists.

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-- Richard Verrier