Nick Counter retired only this year after serving as Chief Negotiator on behalf of the motion picture studios for decades.  After the strikes in 1980, where he served as legal counsel for the employers, he became head of the newly constituted Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.  Nick consolidated the power of the industry by insisting that  once there was consensus on an issue, the studios would be required to stand by that consensus.  The two separate employer labor organizations were merged to avoid union whipsawing.

However, Nick was a deal maker.  He understood that the industry was better served by making reasonable labor agreements rather than disruptive labor disputes.  He found solutions and worked through thorny issues on behalf of those he repeHis larger perspective also ran to his role on the benefit plans serving the industry workers.  His objective in every plan meeting was how to have the beneficiaries of the plan get the benefit of the plan.  He occasionally ran into disputes with the union trustees on those plas but those disputes were always about how to maintain the long term health of the plan and not how to avoid providing the best benefits possible.

After his retirement he continued as a consultant to the AMPTP.

Carol Lombardini is Nick Counter's successor as President and Chief Negotiator.  She is a powerful and skilled negotiator and will serve the studios well.  But I think even she would acknowledge, that during the difficult round of bargaining which will begin in the coming year, Nick's touch, even in his reduced role, will be missed.

His family has asked that in lieu of flowers that a contribution is made to the Motion Picture & Television Fund or to the Entertainment Industry Foundation. 

May his memory be a comfort to his family and friends.