It was Tuesday, October 4 when Soap Opera Network first reported on the current status of union discussions between the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and Prospect Park following word back in July that Prospect Park would be launching "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" on the web. Now more than a month later, and with news that "AMC" is being delayed for various reasons, an AFTRA rep tells Soap Opera Network that they are "still in discussions with [Prospect Park]." This at some point could place a damper on the company's plan of launching "One Life" online in January if a deal isn't reached in the next several weeks.
The big news of December 2012 was word that Prospect Park was taking another stab at moving ABC's "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" to the web in 2013. The news was first reported by Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva. In her initial reporting, Andreeva revealed that Prospect Park had made agreements with the unions SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and the DGA (Directors Guild of America). Previously, while the company had planned on debuting the shows on the web in early 2012, no deals had been signed with either union or the WGA (Writers Guild of America). This hindered the company's plan to move forward with the shows and resulted in a postponement that was announced in November 2011. In a statement at the time, AFTRA (prior to its merger with SAG) said that they were "deeply disappointed to read that the executives at Prospect Park have decided to suspend their efforts to produce the long-running and popular daytime serials." Additionally, the union had said that they "remain hopeful that an opportunity to revive these two popular series will emerge in the future, and remain ready to resume discussions should that opportunity arise." The future took more than a year, but it appears to have finally emerged. However, although a representative from SAG-AFTRA confirmed that an agreement with Prospect Park had been made when pressed for comment from Soap Opera Network early last week, it remains unclear if said agreement had actually been signed. "Not absolutely certain it had been signed but can check that for you," said the rep. Due to the holidays, we don't expect a response on that little detail until at least tomorrow, January 2.
In a press release issued just a short time ago, Prospect Park has confirmed plans to move forward with "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" online. The company states that Agnes Nixon, who created both series, has been working as a consultant on the project. They confirm that they have signed deals with the DGA and SAG-AFTRA, but nothing in regards to the WGA. Jennifer Pepperman has been hired on as Executive Producer of "OLTL," Ginger Smith is EP of "AMC."
Prospect Park's much anticipated online revivals of long-running soaps "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" continue to inch closer to reality as both shows are scheduled to go into production in the coming weeks ahead of their excepted launch dates on Hulu (and iTunes) sometime in April.
The DGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, Teamsters and the Hollywood Basic Crafts unions announced this evening a revised agreement with the AMPTP which modifies the current COVID-19 Safety Agreement that has been in place since September 2020. The new agreement “creates a more flexible set of protocols for areas of the United States and Canada with low COVID hospital admissions while maintaining core elements to keep sets safe,” the organizations say. Additionally, the modifications apply only to areas that have confirmed low COVID hospital admissions, leaving largely in place the requirements for areas experiencing surging admission rates. These new workplace practices apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated cast and crew.
Testing Protocols are as follows:
Pre-employment testing is still required of all crews, but with modifications to the types of tests allowed. Testing will still be required on an ongoing weekly basis during production for Zones A and B, but reduced in frequency. Zones C and D do not require testing beyond pre-employment.
Masking will not be required in most settings, with the specific exception of shuttle vans.
Additional modifications include flexibility on meal service and rules related to transportation.
The following current agreement conditions remain in place:
Vaccination: The new agreement continues to allow employers to mandate that employees in Zone A be “up to date” on their vaccinations, including a booster.
COVID Compliance Supervisor: Hiring of a dedicated COVID-19 compliance supervisor responsible for safety compliance and enforcement, who will be accessible to cast and crew at all times during working hours.
Quarantine Pay and Sick Leave: All employees will continue to receive 10 days of COVID-19 paid sick leave, and the leave can be used for any of the eligible COVID-19 events (e.g. testing positive, exhibiting symptoms, isolation or self-quarantines, or when a member of their household tests positive for COVID-19).
The agreement allows employers to impose more stringent requirements regarding masking and testing as the production circumstances require and will remain in effect through July 15, 2022. The parties will continue closely monitoring COVID-19 developments and will consider further modifications at that time.
“The COVID-19 Safety Agreement is the outcome of unprecedented coordination and solidarity between the unions and collaboration with Employers to develop science-based protocols that minimize the risk of COVID-19 virus transmission in the industry’s unique work environments,” the group notes. “Since that time, the protocols have driven a successful rebound of film and television production while prioritizing safety for casts, crews and all on-set workers.”
The agreement is between the AMPTP and the Hollywood unions which includes the Directors Guild of America (DGA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and the Hollywood Basic Crafts, (Teamsters Local 399, IBEW Local 40, LiUNA! Local 724, OPCMIA Local 755 and UA Local 78) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).
Currently “General Hospital” is the only daytime drama series to officially have a vaccine mandate in place via The Walt Disney Company’s corporate mandate.
