TORONTO (CP) _ A strike by 21,000 Canadian film, television and radio workers is against the law, say producers who went to court Tuesday in hopes of convincing a judge to appoint an arbitrator to resolve the two-week-old dispute.

The Canadian Film and Television Production Association took its battle to Ontario’s Superior Court after talks with ACTRA, the union that represents striking workers, broke down.

The strike violates the terms of the Independent Production Agreement _ the contract between producers and the union _ and gives ACTRA an unfair advantage in negotiations, argued John Rook, a lawyer for the CFTPA.

The producers want the court to suspend special agreements between the union and individual producers, which allow members to keep working despite the strike.

They also want a court order restraining ACTRA from engaging in what the CFTPA calls an "unlawful strike" until a court-appointed arbitrator can decide its legality.

"ACTRA has refused or failed to comply with the terms of the agreement. We think the court has the authority to make them comply," Rook said. "ACTRA effectively gained the upper hand by declaring a strike, but by virtue of the continuation agreements, everyone gets to stay at work."

Performers went on strike Jan. 8 after ACTRA members voted 97.6 per cent in favour of walking off the job. The major sticking point for members involves compensation for performances broadcast over the Internet and on cellular phones.

ACTRA national president Richard Hardacre said the special agreements between producers and performers were made to ensure production could continue into the new year, even though the contract expired on Dec. 31.

"We’re trying to be creative. We’re not trying to be manipulative," Hardacre told reporters outside the courtroom, noting the side deals are essentially a continuation of the current contract plus a five per cent wage hike.

"The producers themselves . . . have actually broken ranks with their association because they want to work and they want there to be stability in this industry."

Hardacre contends the strike is legal and that the union would be happy to argue that fact before the labour board, where he feels the matter belongs.

CFTPA, however, took its fight to court on the grounds that performers are not employees and therefore not governed under the Labour Relations Act.

Hardacre said he believes producers are now contesting ACTRA’s status as a labour union, despite its 64-year history as such, in order to stall the current round of collective bargaining.

"We’re willing to defend ourselves with the labour law. They want to hold us strictly to means within the (Independent Production Agreement)," he said. "It seems to be in their interest to not have a settlement right now."

The union said it asked producers to put a global offer to settle on the table and that talks broke down after it refused.

Producers said talks broke down when ACTRA made an unreasonable demand for a 50 per cent increase in fees for new media production, but ACTRA maintains it proposed all digital media issues to be referred to a joint committee so the industry could get back to work.

Montreal РThe Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) and the Association des producteurs de films et de t̩l̩vision du Qu̩bec (APFTQ) resumed negotiations with ACTRA in Montreal today. The Producers and ACTRA negotiated through Mary-Ellen Cummings, a neutral third party facilitator, who was tasked with clarifying the positions of both parties around the issues of New Media and wages in an attempt to iron out the few remaining details standing in the way of a deal.

The CFTPA and APFTQ saw today’s negotiations as a final attempt to avoid a long and difficult labour dispute involving the courts. Despite her hard work, the facilitator was not able to bridge the widening divide when ACTRA demanded a 50% increase of its fees.

“We came to Montreal to finalize our proposals on both New Media and wages and were feeling that we are very close to finding the deal. I’m deeply disappointed that ACTRA has taken this opportunity to ask for an unprecedented 50% increase with regard to its fees on New Media production.” said John Barrack, Chef Negotiator, CFTPA “This illustrates the sharp contrast between ACTRA and the other unions and guilds in the production sector”.

“This labour dispute is incredibly disruptive to the Canadian production community and is affecting the lives of all of those who work in the sector. We are preparing for a very long strike.” said Julie Patry, Attorney, Director, Industrial Relations, APFTQ, “There is very little left for us to do, we’ve played all our cards and will leave this to the courts.”

As a result of ACTRA pressing for a 50% increase the Producers have been forced into a difficult position and will be not be able to avoid court action. The Producers took every step possible to find a deal and avoid court proceedings and will appear in the Provincial Court of Ontario to ask the court to rule on the legality of the ACTRA Strike as well as the unlawful Continuation Letters. The Producers have tabled a generous New Media payment structure that pays performers three times, when a New Media production is made, when it is used, and if the production is ever converted to a conventional use like television or DVD.

“People will ask, why are the producers going to court? The simple answer is that our agreement states that when we have a difference of opinion, we go to arbitration. ACTRA has refused to work with us on finding an arbitrator, leaving us with little choice but to ask the court to appoint one to look at this matter as quickly as possible.” added Barrack.

TORONTO – ACTRA is in a legal strike position in Quebec as of today, January 10, 2007. There are no picket lines however, as all Quebec productions have signed interim agreements.

“Like Toronto, there are no work disruptions or picket lines because all the productions scheduled to shoot have signed interim agreements with ACTRA, and all cameras are rolling today,” said Raymond Guardia, ACTRA’s Regional Director.

“Interim agreements are flooding into our office,” said Matt Holland, President of ACTRA Montreal. “ACTRA Montreal members may be on strike, but all who were scheduled to work are working today – for increased wages and benefits.”

ACTRA’s negotiations with the producers’ associations broke down on January 8, 2007, over compensation and use for performers’ work in digital media.

“ACTRA offered significant discounts and flexibility on internet use. What the producers want is the right to distribute our members’ work, worldwide on the internet, for free. That’s not acceptable,” said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA’s National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator.

Along with demands for free internet use, producers’ final wage proposals would further widen the gap between Canadian and U.S. performers working side-by-side on the same sets in Canada.

ACTRA’s strike began on January 8 in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The strike will extend to rest of the country shortly, except British Columbia that is covered by a separate agreement.

TORONTO, Jan. 8 – ACTRA has chosen to walk away from a comprehensive settlement package designed to close the gap on all of the issues remaining on the table. The package covers all outstanding proposals including New Media, Wages, Background Performers, Animation, Fact-Based Lifestyle Programs and Documentaries.

ACTRA’s has refused a wage increase of more than double of that agreed to by the Writers Guild of Canada and three and four times greater than agreements negotiated with the Directors Guild of Canada and NABET. The Producers offered a 3 percent wage increase for each year of the three year agreement in an effort to address what ACTRA had identified as its number one concern, closing the pay gap between themselves and actors covered by the Screen Actors Guild in the United States. Not only does the final proposal address ACTRA’s concerns it was also designed to avoid any further disruption to the production sector.

"We’ve put forward a comprehensive package that gets Producers what they need to continue to creating quality Canadian productions in today’s production environment as well as demonstrating significant flexibility in addressing ACTRA wage concerns." said John Barrack, Chief Negotiator, CFTPA.
"It became clear that ACTRA was playing games when they posted a strike notice to members on their website while at the same time requesting that we continue bargaining. Furthermore, they’re completely misinformed if they feel that decimating the industry in Canada will somehow give them more leverage with regard to increasing their wage package."

The Negotiating Committee representing the producers is a 3-way partnership made up of the CFTPA, APFTQ along with all the US Studios who negotiate with one voice for the mutual benefit of all producers.

"ACTRA seems to be under the impression that the New Media issues are only of interest to the US studios. Nothing could be further from the truth. The New Media package is at least, if not more important to Canadian producers." said Steve Comeau, President, Collideascope Digital Productions Inc.

"ACTRA seems to be bending to pressure from the Screen Actors Guild who have been present through out these negotiations. ACTRA seems unwilling to run any risk of doing something in Canada that would set a precedent that its US masters might find offensive. Steve Waddell, ACTRA’s Chef Negotiator, seems to be willing to sacrifice the Canadian industry to placate his old bosses at SAG." added Barrack.

The Producers have always stated that we will not prevent ACTRA from Striking so long as it is done according to the Negotiating Protocol outlined in the IPA. The CFTPA will appear before the courts in Ontario and other provinces to have ACTRA’s illegal continuation letters deemed invalid and possibly challenge the legal status of their organization. The CFTPA has always held the view that ACTRA cannot selectively strike against members of the CFTPA or APFTQ.

"We are not looking to further destabilize the industry but we will not stand by and allow ACTRA to extort our members with this ridiculously high fee." added Barrack.

"I am in disbelief that ACTRA can not find the courage to deal with the new business realities that face our industry. There is a real lack of leadership and understanding which is effectively writing ACTRA and its members out of the future" added Julie Patry, Attorney, Director, Industrial Relations, APFTQ.

"The CFTPA is committed to taking the appropriate action in order to protect the interests of our members in the short – and more importantly – the long term." said Guy Mayson, President and CEO, CFTPA. "From the beginning we have illustrated our willingness to work with ACTRA to find a deal that is in the best interest for all parties. I’m highly disappointed that they’ve chosen to abandon the IPA and the negotiated protocol and resort to this illegal work stoppage."

TORONTO (CP) _ The union representing 21,000 film, television and radio workers across Canada said early Thursday a major labour disruption could be a few days away.

Talks between the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, or ACTRA, and the producers’ organization broke down late Wednesday, said Stephen Waddell, the organization’s national executive director and chief negotiator.

"I very much regret that Canadian producers have decided to provoke a dispute in which they will be the principal victims," Waddell said.

"But given the conduct of their trade associations, we appear to be a few days away from a major disruption in Canada’s film and television industry."

ACTRA is in a legal strike position as of January 1, 2007 in most of Canada.

No new negotiations are scheduled.

The union’s main contentions centre around wage increases and the use of performances on the internet.

ACTRA characterized as "outrageous" the producers’ offer of a 0 per cent, 0 per cent and 1 per cent wage increase for people working on Canadian productions.

The union also said the producers maintained contract requirements that "amount to demanding work from Canadian performers on the Internet for free."

In earlier negotiations, ACTRA said it offered flexibility in the use of performances on the Internet, major wage concessions for low-budget independent Canadian producers and new flexible rules for reality television.

"We’re not going to give away the future for free. And we are not going to let our members’ pay continue to erode compared to other performers in North America," Waddell said, adding he’d be willing to speak to producers any time, but is not optimistic a settlement can be reached.

Last Friday ACTRA voted 97.6 in favour of going on strike if its demands aren’t met.

Canadian stars such as Sarah Polley, Maria Del Mar, Wendy Crewson and Gordon Pinsent turned out to support the ACTRA’s negotiating team late Wednesday and early Thursday.

The strike would cover virtually all television and film work in Canada.

ACTRA averted a strike in the fall of 2001 after it reached an agreement with the association that represents the country’s film and TV producers.

The prospect of a strike led to a lull in work in the industry, then worth $4 billion. U.S. producers rushed to complete several projects being shot in Canada in the event of a threatened summer writers and actors strike in Hollywood, which never materialized. A looming Canadian strike compounded U.S. producers worries.

Between 75 and 80 per cent of the film and TV work in Canada is American-financed.