Another meeting between the representatives of the ad industry and the US performers unions SAG and AFTRA, held July 20-21, yielded no agreement and the unions' strike, now the longest in commercial production history, continues.

Outside of the meetings, the unions have been lobbying city councils in Chicago, New York and LA to pass motions to curtail the commercial business during the strike. Originally, councilwoman Jackie Goldberg put forward a proposal to ban commercial shoots on public property in LA for the duration of the strike, and similar proposals have since been made in Chicago and New York.

The LA motion asserted that commercial producers have made a concerted effort to avoid union picket lines by providing false or misleading information in film permits required to shoot in the Los Angeles area and proposed that the coordinators of the permits - the Entertainment Industry Development Corporation (EIDC) together with the Los Angeles Police

Department - ensure film permits be issued only for sites that are intended for location shoots, and that permits correctly identify the type of project, be it feature, music video or commercial.

After hearing from both the unions and representatives of the agency and production industry, Councilwoman Goldberg conceded that her motion needed some fine tuning and the proposal was referred to committee.

Meanwhile, Pepsi, McDonalds, Sprint and Levi Strauss were among the advertisers identified at a recent SAG/AFTRA press conference as having produced radio and television commercials with union talent since the actors' strike began May 1.

The names of advertisers who have enlisted small production facilities to sign interim agreements were released by SAG president William Daniels and president of the Los Angeles AFTRA Local, Susan Boyd. Responding on behalf of advertisers, counsel to the JPC Ira Shepard said the SAG/AFTRA claims did not affect the industry's solidarity and further supported the advertisers' argument. Namely, that commercial production has continued despite the strike.

Residuals remain at the heart of the stalemate. SAG/AFTRA members are demanding the current "pay-per-play" plan for spots appearing on major TV networks be extended to commercials airing on cable. Advertisers are proposing a flat rate for each 13-week cycle, noting that the "pay-per-play" system was instituted before the advent of cable TV.