TORONTO – With its current collective agreement expiring December 31st, actors union ACTRA says its members have voted 97.6% in favour of a strike, in the province-by-province strike referendum concluded Friday.
“Our committee continues to negotiate with producers to try to win a fair and reasonable agreement for performers. The overwhelming support of ACTRA members for their bargaining team puts our side in an excellent position to gain what our members need,” said Stephen Waddell ACTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator, in a press release.
The union will be in a legal strike position on January 1st.
Negotiations between ACTRA and producers are now at their critical stage. A series of non-monetary issues have been agreed to in recent days, says ACTRA.
“Producers began these negotiations with a hyper-aggressive series of proposals designed to strip performers’ pay and residuals and to break our union,” Waddell said in the release. “Now we’re going to see if some days of relatively productive negotiating plus the immediate prospect of a major industrial disruption has changed the direction of these talks. Hopefully producers will not underestimate our determination to secure a fair and reasonable agreement."
Further talks are scheduled for December 18, 19 and 20.
