Wednesday, May 5, 2000
Tiger Woods joins in actors' strike
against TV, radio commercial industry
By LYNN ELBER
AP Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tiger Woods is on
strike.
Not as a golfer, but as a highly paid Nike
pitchman.
Woods has joined the strike by TV and radio
commercial actors by refusing to film an advertisement for the
sportswear and sporting goods manufacturer.
Woods was scheduled to shoot a Nike commercial
Tuesday at Islesworth Country Club, his home course near Orlando,
Fla. But he decided to just not do it.
“There is a strike going on and we're
abiding by it,” said his agent, Mark Steinberg of International
Management Group. No commercial was filmed Tuesday and none would
be for several weeks, he said.
Woods' decision was greeted enthusiastically
by the Screen Actors Guild, which authorized the strike along
with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
About 135,000 actors are represented by the unions.
The strike, which began Monday, escalated
with the filing Tuesday of a federal unfair labor practice charge
against the actors' union for allegedly threatening to permanently
ban actors from the union if they appear in commercials during
the strike. The filing also claimed the union was illegally seeking
to expand its commercial contract to cover work done in Canada
and Mexico.
The show of support by Woods was acknowledged
by the actors' union.
“We deeply appreciate the support of
this international superstar,” SAG spokesman Greg Krizman
said. Woods “stands together with the working class SAG and
AFTRA performers who depend on a fair commercials contract to
maintain a decent standard of life.”
Woods' deal with Nike was being renegotiated
and could pay him a reported $80 million to $90 million over five
years. The golfer's TV commercials, including one in which he
bounces a golf ball off a club head, have been eye-catching.
Union membership is mandatory for anyone
who appears in more than one commercial, athletes included. The
unions have vowed to picket film shoots proceeding with nonunion
actors or guild members not honoring the strike.
Nike spokesman Mike Kelly would not reveal
the nature of the commercial, but said the goal was to have it
ready in time for the U.S. Open, which begins June 15.
The strike centers on the pay structure
for commercials. Actors get a minimum of about $478 for a day's
work and also get “pay-per-play” residuals of roughly
$50 to $120 each time a spot airs on network television.
When it comes to cable TV commercials, however,
performers receive only a flat fee of $1,000 or less for each
13-week, unlimited run.
With two-thirds of all TV ads now being
made for cable, actors are demanding that pay-per-play be extended
to cable. Advertisers, however, want to extend the flat fee from
cable to the networks.
Ad-makers have said they are confident they
can continue production with nonunion actors and union members
who were not participating in the strike.
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On the Net: http://www.sag.org
http://www.aftra.org
http://www.aaaa.org
http://www.ana.net
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