Is a SAG strike looming?

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), one of two Hollywood actors' unions, has approved a new contract with Hollywood studios. According to the Associated Press, the three-year deal brings bigger paydays to actors whose work appears on the Internet.

But the pact arrives amidst a firestorm of controversy in the form of opposition from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the other major actors' union, which decried AFTRA's move of striking a separate deal with the studios, saying it reduced both unions' clout, according to the AP.

SAG President Alan Rosenberg said this in a statement: "Clearly many Screen Actors Guild members responded to our education and outreach campaign and voted against the inadequate AFTRA agreement ... We will continue to address the issues of importance to actors that AFTRA left on the table and we remain committed to achieving a fair contract for SAG actors."

And the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) said of its deal with AFTRA: "We appreciate today's vote of confidence by actors in the agreement we reached with AFTRA and hope that it demonstrates to SAG's Hollywood leadership that there is support for the new economic relationships we have built with writers, directors and actors -- and not much support for a strike, whether de facto or real."

The contracts of both unions expired June 30.