Arts unions merge in effort to boost power of bargaining teams. (Up Front).

In a bid to enhance their bargaining leverage and better adapt to new technologies, the memberships of the Art Directors Guild and the Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists union have voted overwhelmingly to merge.

The two unions, both of which are under the umbrella of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, agreed late last month to a July 1 merger date.

The boards of the two unions, whose members often work side by side on theater stages and on the sets of films and television shows, have engaged in on and off merger discussions for four years, said Scott Roth, executive director of the Art Directors Guild (Local 876).

While there were only a handful of dissenters among the smaller Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists union (Local 816), about one-third of voting art directors cast ballots against the merger. The combined union will have roughly 1,600 members, 900 coming from the Art Directors Guild.

"This is the first time the (Art Directors Guild) has reached out, so we had our work out cut for us to show our art directors that this made sense," said Roth, who will head the new Art Directors Guild & Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists (Local 850). "In any merger, you would expect administrative efficiencies. But the real motivation is that it gives us greater bargaining strength than we currently enjoy."

Art directors who opposed combining the two unions did so over concerns about joining with workers who play a more peripheral role in the production process.

But Roth said those concerns were outweighed by practical arguments in favor of a merger. In the future, he said, the new union would reach out to set designers and illustrators about joining forces as well.

"There have been a lot of conglomerates forming in this business and we don't want to be left behind," he said.

Although both unions operate under the basic agreement negotiated by IATSE with film studios and some television networks, they do negotiate their own contracts with other employers, including station owners and theater companies.

IATSE made a new three-year deal with the studios earlier this year, but both unions involved in the merger have other contracts that expire as early as next year.

"It does make a difference when you go to the table with 1,600 (members) instead of 700," said Missy Humphrey, executive director of the Scenic Title and Graphic Artists. Humphrey will be associate executive director of the combined union.