Although negotiations between ACTRA and the CFTPA are ongoing, members of the former were told not to go to work today, as an ACTRA strike has commenced. The only exception to this is for actors who are “working for producers who have been engaged with ACTRA on an interim agreement,” according to ACTRA president Richard Hardacre.
However, none of the actors are on the picket line, as all producers who are working in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have signed agreements to let would-be picketing actors continue to work, thus breaking with the CFTPA–who does not recognise the strike or the letters and calls the strike “illegal”.
One of the biggest issues that has caused this strike to happen is electronic rights. For example, producers make more money off of DVD sales than the actors do. Another issue is overall pay for actors. In general, actors in Canada often work on films or television for scale–much less than what they would make in the US.
Quebec actors will be in a strike position on Wednesday. Negotiating units in Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland are in conciliation; in other words, they’re still working things out. There are legal loopholes to jump through before a strike can take place in Prince Edward Island or New Brunswick. British Columbia’s actors are represented by a separate union; but they are supporting ACTRA’s members in this dispute.
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