Actors protest at union merger

Renee Zellweger won best actress at the SAG awards

A group of actors gathered to protest against the proposed merger of the main film actors' guild with the leading television and radio union.

About 50 actors protested outside the offices of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), which represents almost 100,000 film actors in Los Angeles.

They said they had been shut out of discussions about the merger with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).

On Monday, the boards of the two unions voted to merge, under the title the Alliance of International Media Artists, to give them more power in negotiations with big entertainment companies.

Members must now decide on the merger, with 60% of each union needing to agree to carry it through.

But SAG board member Kent McCord, who starred in 1960s cop show Adam 12, predicted the cost of the merger would top $20m (£12.7m) and would lead to unneccesary beaurocracy.

"We can't take back the Screen Actors Guild if this thing doesn't work out in three or five years, he said.

"This is a 'til death do us part marriage."

Supporters of the union accused the opposition of "fear mongering".

A merger has been rejected in recent years, mainly because film and prime-time TV actors, represented by SAG, did not want to share power with daytime TV actors and the AFTRA union.

AFTRA president John Connolly said the merger could strengthen the unions position against "runaway productions" where cities such as Toronto and Montreal are used in place of US cities because it is cheaper.