MONTREAL — Quebec’s largest actors’ union says it’s prepared to disrupt TV and film shoots this summer if a deal isn’t worked out with producers by July 1.

The Union des artistes, which represents French-language performers, says its members aren’t getting their fair share of the province’s increasingly profitable film and television industry. The UDA, with a current collective agreement expiring in 2005, has been at the bargaining table with the APFTQ since December.

‘The industry has changed radically. It’s not the fault of the broadcasters or the producers, but the fact is there is lots of money circulating and the rules of the game must change to reflect that. We need a new business model to better compensate artists,’ says UDA president Raymond Legault.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Legault released a study which found that — while the revenue of specialty and pay-per-view television grew by 17 % annually between 1996 and 2005 — the average income of TV and film performers in Quebec diminished by 21.3% between 2000 and 2006.

He says any new collective agreement must reflect the increasing profits of Quebec PPV and specialty channels, which, according to the study by University of Quebec at Montreal professors Pierre Lefebvre and Philip Merrigan, make a profit of around 25 cents for every dollar they pull in, compared to 11 cents among conventional broadcasters.

‘Performers aren’t compensated for this at all. When they shoot something for TV, they get the same amount if they are working for conventional or specialty channels,’ says Legault. He says actors also don’t get their fair share of DVD sales, which have ballooned in Quebec in the past five years.

Although Legault says negotiations are going well with the APFTQ, the union released a statement last week saying it would step up pressure tactics — including strike measures — if its demands weren’t met.

The Quebec producers association released a counter statement, saying it was negotiating in good faith and it was ‘flabbergasted’ at the union’s threats. Legault says if an agreement isn’t worked out by the end of June, UDA members may vote to strike.